Institute of Development Studies

Biography

Political scientist whose current research looks at how the political management of natural resource revenues affects development goals. His work "Informal Coalitions and Policymaking in Latin America" (New York: Routledge, 2009) looks at how formal and informal political institutions produce policy reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean. Publications include articles and book chapters on electoral systems, political parties, legislative politics, budget politics, the policymaking process, informal institutions, and democratic governance. He has done consulting work for Club de Madrid, The Carter Center, Eurasia Group, Freedom House, United Nations Development Programme, the Inter American Development Bank and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.  Andrés is also Co-Convenor of the Research Programme on Revenue Collection and State Capacity for the Centre for the Future State.

Selected Projects

• Review of UN Country Teams Engagement
• The New Paradox of Plenty in the Andes

Thematic Expertise

Governance; Politics and Power; State Capacity; Public Policy; Democracy.

Geographic Expertise

Latin America and the Caribbean; Peru; Bolivia; Ecuador; Honduras; Jamaica.

Selected Publications »»

• Mejia Acosta, A. and Polga-Hecimovich, J. (2010) 'Parliamentary Solutions to Presidential Crises in Ecuador' in Llanos, M. and Marsteintredt, L. (eds), Presidential Breakdowns in Latin America: Causes and Outcomes of Executive Instability in Developing Democracies, Palgrave Macmillan
• Mejía Acosta, A. (2009) Informal Coalitions and Policymaking in Latin America: Ecuador in Comparative Perspective, New York: Routledge
• Albornoz, V., Araujo, C.M. and Mejia Acosta, A. (2009) 'The Political Economy of the Budget Process: The Case of Ecuador' in Scartascini, C., Stein, E. and Hallerberg, M. (eds), Who Decides the Budget? A Political Economy Analysis of the Budget Process in Latin America, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
• Mejía Acosta, A. (2009) Por el ojo de una aguja: la formación de políticas públicas en el Ecuador, Quito: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO)
• Acosta, A.M. (2009) 'Aid, Rents and the Politics of the Budget Process (Research Summary)', IDS Research Summary of IDS Working Paper 311, Brighton: IDS
• Mejia Acosta, A. and Heuty, A. (2009) 'Can Ghana avoid the oil curse? A prospective look into natural resource governance.' , Policy briefing for Department for International Development, Brighton: Centre for the Future State
• Mejia Acosta, A. (2008) 'Countries at the Crossroads: Ecuador' in (eds), Countries at the Crossroads 2007: A Survey of Democratic Governance, Freedom House
• Mejia Acosta, A., and Machado Puertas, J.C. (2008) 'La democracia asfixiadas en los Andes Altos: elecciones e inestabilidad en Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú' in Alcántara Sáez, M and García Díez, F (eds), Elecciones y Política en América Latina
• Araujo, C., Mejía Acosta, A., Pérez Liñán, A. and Saiegh, S. (2008) 'Veto Players, Fickle Institutions and Low-Quality Policies: The Policymaking Process in Ecuador' in Spiller, P., Stein, E. and Tommasi, M. (eds), Political Institutions, Policymaking Processes and Policy Outcomes, Harvard: Harvard University Press
• Mejía Acosta, A. and de Renzio, P. (2008) 'Aid, Rents and the Politics of the Budget Process', IDS Working Paper 311, Brighton: IDS
• Mejia Acosta, A. (2007) Ghost Coalitions: Informal Institutions and the Policymaking Process in Latin America
• Mejia Acosta, A., Pérez Liñán, A. and Saiegh, S.M. (2006) 'The Partisan Foundations of Legislative Particularism in Latin America'
• Mejia Acosta, A., Albornoz, V. and Araujo, C. (2006) 'The Political Economy of the Budget Process: The Case of Ecuador', Economic and Sector Study Series RE3-06-009, Inter-American Development Bank
• Mejia Acosta, A. (2006) 'Thin Air for Democratic Governance in the Andes', Harvard Review of Latin America. David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies 1
• Mejia Acosta, A. (2006) 'Crafting Legislative Ghost Coalitions in Ecuador: Informal Institutions and Economic Reform in an Unlikely Case' in Helmke, G. and Levitsky, S. (eds), Informal Institutions and Democracy: Lessons from Latin America, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press