Why Commodity Booms Have Not (Yet?) Boosted Human Capital: Bolivia’s Struggle to Create a Skilled Workforce

Bolivia flooded the Spanish crown with silver, and later supplied the minerals that fuelled the Industrial Revolution. Today, Bolivia has the world’s largest lithium reserves, which may be critical to the green, low-carbon economy. Bolivia’s President Evo Morales wants this looming extractive boom to differ from those of the past. Rather than exporting the primary commodity, Morales seeks to develop strong downstream linkages by manufacturing lithium batteries domestically; he has even expressed a desire to assemble battery-powered cars in Bolivia (Bajak and Valdez, 2009). The government intends to invest USD 902 million, of which USD 485 million would be earmarked