Oil Extraction Policy under the Rule of Law and Justice: A Critical View of Public Policies in Ecuador

Abstract

This work is based on a critical analysis of oil exploitation as public policy: firstly, the Constitutional and legal regulations that allow for oil exploitation activities to be carried out and the institutions that administrate these activities are examined; secondly, the characteristics of oil exploitation in regards to territorial appropriation, the linking of oil incomes with economic development, and the environmental impacts are analyzed. Under this framework, the expansion of oil extraction borders as part of Ecuadorian extractive oil policy is examined.. Lastly, in a rule of law and justice State that favors human and environmental rights, a need to rethink this public policy is seen, given the less than positive balance upon its implementation.

KEYWORDS: Extractivism, public policy, oil exploitation public policy, productive capacity, oil reserves

JEL CODE / CLASIFICACIÓN JEL: F18, H23