Oil, power, and rural change in Ecuador: 1972-1979

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1985

OSTI ID:5168411

Zevallos, J V

This study explores the role of the State in Ecuador's agriculture during the period of oil boom and military rule (1972-1979). It focuses on: (1) how the availability of oil revenues affected formation and implementation of agricultural policies; (2) the impact of oil-financed policies on agrarian structure, agricultural production, and rural inequality. Historical analysis is based on interviews with policy makers, newspaper chronology, and government documents. Policy impact assessment is based on macroeconomic evidence and microlevel studies. Although agrarian reform was central to the military's development plan, the 1973 Agrarian Reform Law imposed no farm size limits and postponed enforcement of efficiency requirements until 1976. Oil revenues eliminated some political and economic incentives for reform. State action shifted away from land redistribution towards colonization and promotion of agricultural production. The oil boom had an overall negative impact on rural income distribution. It removed incentives for reform. Increased state spending benefitted primarily medium and large landowners. Macroeconomic trends favored adoption of capital intensive methods in livestock and industrial crop production and decapitalization of food and export agriculture, harming wage-dependent laborers.

• Research Organization: Wisconsin Univ., Madison (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5168411
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
294002* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Petroleum
AGRICULTURE
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECONOMIC IMPACT
ECUADOR
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INDUSTRY
LATIN AMERICA
LEGAL INCENTIVES
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
SOUTH AMERICA