ABSTRACT
Mining and oil industries have been the most dynamic sectors of the Bolivian economy from independence onwards. This chapter aims at analyzing if this natural resources dependence has affected the long-term evolution (1883–2010) of Bolivian public finances through the so-called rentier state hypothesis (Ross 1999). Two main conclusions arise from the analysis: i) increases in natural resources revenues have not always been correlated with decreases in the domestic tax effort; ii) natural and non-natural resources revenues have allowed increasing human capital spending which, however, has not necessarily benefited the vast majorities of the country.
