Roberto Laserna (born 1953) is a

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

n and Spanish writer and economist who earned a PhD from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

regional planning Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. Regional planning is related to urban planning as it relates land ...

.Roberto Laserno
Project-Syndicate

Career

He won the Literary National Prize Franz Tamayo in 1976 before becoming a scientist. His book ''20 (mis)conceptions on coca and cocaine'' addresses drug policy and development problems, and ''La democracia en el ch`enko'' explains one of the most neglected causes of economic stagnation: economic

heterogeneity Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...

. In his later book "La Trampa del Rentismo" Laserna presents his theory on the

Rent-seeking Rent-seeking is the act of growing one's existing wealth without creating new wealth by manipulating the social or political environment. Rent-seeking activities have negative effects on the rest of society. They result in reduced economic effi ...

trap, and explores the influence of the abundance of natural resources in shaping the political institutions and economic culture that drives underdevelopment in Bolivia. He has also researched socia
conflicts

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

and

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

. He was a professor at Universidad Mayor de San Simon, and has been at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

(2003–2004). He is a researcher at CERES,
private research center
in Cochabamba and President of Fundacion Milenio, a
think tank
in La Paz.

Works

*2011 El fracaso del prohibicionismo. Fundación Vicente Pazos Kanki, La Paz. *2008 La riqueza nacional para la gente. (Working Paper) La Paz, Fundación Milenio. *2005 Ciudades y pobreza. Cochabamba, UMSS. *2004 La democracia en el ch´enko. La Paz, Fundación Milenio. (three editions) *2001 Conflictos sociales y movimientos políticos. El año 2000 en Bolivia. Documentos de Trabajo. Cochabamba, Ceres-Dfid. *1997 20 (mis)conceptions on coca and cocaine. La Paz, Plural Publishers. *1996 20 Juicios y Prejuicios sobre coca-cocaína. La Paz, Ed. Clave-Plataforma de contrapartes Novib. *1994a Las Drogas y el Ajuste en Bolivia. Economía clandestina y políticas públicas. La Paz, Ed. CEDLA. *1994b La Masacre del Valle. El desencuentro militar campesino. Cochabamba, Ed. CERES. *1992 Productores de Democracia. Acción social y procesos políticos en Bolivia (1971–1991). Cochabamba, Ed. FACES/CERES. *1984 Espacio y sociedad regional. Cochabamba, Ed. CERES.

Co authored Works

*2008 Conflicto social y crecimiento económico en Bolivia. With José Luis Evia and Stergios Skaperdas. La Paz, Instituto para la Democracia, Ceres and Cosude. *2008 *2007 Constitución y poder político. Con Luis Verdesoto, Henry Oporto y Maria Teresa Zegada. Ed. Plural. La Paz. *2006 La trampa del rentismo. La Paz, Fundación Milenio, with Jose M. Gordillo and Jorge Komadina. (two editions) *2004 Derechos humanos en Bolivia. Proceso y desafìos. (Coordinator) La Paz, Defensor del Pueblo. *2002 Actuar en proyectos, pensar en procesos. De Río a Johannesburgo: experiencias latinoamericanas hacia el desarrollo sostenible. Coordinator and writer in the production of this book from the Red Humana Agenda 21-América Latina. Serie Approaches to Sustainability, Regional Study. New York, Capacity 21, PNUD. *1999 Empujando la concertación. Marchas campesinas, opinión pública y coca. With Natalia Camacho and Eduardo Córdova. La Paz, Ed. Pieb-Ceres. *1998 El Desarrollo Humano en Bolivia 1998. Co-author, responsible of the section "Reducir las Brechas y Construir la Equidad" . La Paz, PNUD. *1997c La Seguridad Humana en Bolivia. Co-author, responsible of "Seguridad Económica". La Paz, Ed. PNUD-ILDIS. *1997a La Fuerza de la Equidad. El desarrollo Humano en Bolivia. With Fernando Calderón G. La Paz, Ed. Los Amigos del Libro. *1996b El Circuito coca cocaína y sus implicaciones. With Alain Touraine and Gustavo Fernández. La Paz, Ed. Ildis. *1995a Sostenibilidad y Desarrollo Humano. Calidad de Vida en Cochabamba. In collaboration with Jorge Cortés, Carmen Ledo, Alejandra Ramírez and Roberto Valdivieso. Cochabamba, Ed. Los Amigos del Libro. *1995b Los Mercados Vallunos de Tierras. With Alberto Rivera and Juan Torrico. La Paz, Ed. Ildis, Ceres. 1994 a Paradojas de la Modernidad. Sociedad y Cambios en Bolivia; co-authored with Fernando Calderón. La Paz, Ed. Fundación Milenio. *1991 La Nueva Dependencia. Cambio tecnológico y reestructuración socio-económica en América Latina; coauthored with Manuel Castells. Cochabamba, Ed. CERES. *1989 Desktop Mapping for Planning and Decision Making; with John D. Landis. San Jose (CA), Strategic Mapping. *1979 La Pobreza en Cochabamba (un análisis socio-económico en la periferia urbana). With Fernando Cosío. Cochabamba, Publicaciones IESE. On the author: Caceres Romero Adolfo, Diccionario de la Literatura Boliviana, Ed Los Amigos del Libro. Molina Fernando, El pensamiento boliviano sobre los recursos naturales, Ed. Pulso, La Paz. Guttentag Tichauer Werner, Bio-bibliografia boliviana (several years). By the author: Urbanizacion y pobreza, Ed. Pulso, La Paz, 2007 La trampa del rentismo, Ed. Milenio, La Paz, 2006 La democracia en el ch'enko, Ed. Milenio/Ceres, La Paz, 2005 20 (mis)conceptions on coca and cocaine, Ed. Clave, La Paz, 1997 See also: Socio-political conflict and economic performance in Bolivia, with Jose Luis Evia and Stergios Skaperdas, https://ssrn.com/abstract=1104954 Decentralization, Local Iniktiatives and Cirizenship in Bolivia, 1994–2004, in the book Participatory Innovation and Representative Democracy in Latin America, edited by Andrew Selee and Enrique Peruzzotti, The Johns Hopkins University/Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laserna, Roberto 1953 births Living people Bolivian economists Bolivian male writers UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design alumni Princeton University faculty Members of the Inter-American Dialogue