Issues in State Modernization in Ecuador

Ecuador's current political economy is largely a product of the boom that took place in the country's oil sector in the early 1970s. The pressure of heightened revenue flows created an oil-exporting factional democracy, and a dichotomy between policies focused on minimizing the pitfalls of natural resource rents (widespread corruption, Dutch disease, etc.) and individual actors driven to maximize their profits. Today, these pressures continue to mount for the country and in the face of significant positive growth indicators