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Why State Ownership Matters for Resource Governance
Overview
As the world moves towards decarbonization, the push for clean energy technologies has quickly brought attention to a key set of players: States in the global south that are rich in transition minerals—minerals like cobalt, lithium, and copper, which are essential to wind turbines, electric vehicles, and other renewable technologies.
In the face of this ballooning demand, how might mineral states respond? In his new book, Business of the State: Why State Ownership Matters for Resource Governance, Dr. Jojo Nem Singh explores what effective growth strategies might look like for these states, shifting away from extractivism as a growth model and instead harnessing the development potential of their resources amid strategic competition. Drawing from the experiences of Brazil's Petrobras and Chile's Codelco, the book shares how state-owned enterprises (SOEs)—if paired with governance reforms and aligned with the private sector—could open new pathways for development.
In exploring a roadmap for mineral states, Business of the State asks fundamental questions about states and markets: why do states seek to intervene in the affairs of public enterprises? And what role might they play in structural transformation?
Speaker
Jewellord (Jojo) Nem Singh
Assistant Professor, International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Hosted By
Environmental Change and Security Program
The Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP) explores the connections between environmental change, health, and population dynamics and their links to conflict, human insecurity, and foreign policy. Read more
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
