Why State Ownership Matters for Resource Governance

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 the transition minerals, like cobalt, lithium, and copper, that are essential to renewable energy technologies. In the face of 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?

About the Speakers

Jewellord (Jojo) Nem Singh is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and an Assistant Professor of International Development at the International Institute of Social Studies, part of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He is the Principal Investigator of a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant for a five-year research project titled Green Industrial Policy in the Age of Rare Metals: A Trans-regional Comparison of Growth Strategies in Rare Earths Mining (GRIP-ARM). Jojo has also worked as a consultant with UNDP Brussels, UNRISD in Geneva, and Publish What You Pay in London. In July, Jojo published Business of the State: Why State Ownership Matters for Resource Governance. 

Diego von Vacano is a Fellow with the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and Latin America Program, and a Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service. His research focuses on the geopolitics and ethics of lithium in Latin America for emerging energy sectors. Diego is currently working on a book on Bolivia's lithium resources and the politics around their development titled Power over Energy: Lithium, Bolivia, and the Global Struggle for the New Green Economy, which is partially based on his personal experience as an advisor to President Luis Arce of Bolivia between 2019 and 2022.  Originally from Bolivia, Diego came to the US as a political refugee. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and MPP from Harvard's Kennedy School.