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Oxford Review of Economic Policy 2009 25(2):241-256; doi:10.1093/oxrep/grp015
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. For permissions please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

This article appears in the following Oxford Review of Economic Policy issue: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEVELOPMENT [View the issue table of contents]

Why do some resource-abundant countries succeed while others do not?

Ragnar Torvik*
* Norwegian University of Science and Technology, e-mail: ragnar.torvik{at}svt.ntnu.no


  Abstract

On average, resource-abundant countries have experienced lower growth over the last four decades than their resource-poor counterparts. But the most interesting aspect of the paradox of plenty is not the average effect of natural resources, but its variation. For every Nigeria or Venezuela there is a Norway or a Botswana. Why do natural resources induce prosperity in some countries but stagnation in others? This paper gives an overview of the dimensions along which resource-abundant winners and losers differ. In light of this, it then discusses different theory models of the resource curse, with a particular emphasis on recent developments in political economy.

Key Words: resource curse • political economy

I am grateful for financial support from the Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economics (OXCARRE) and for comments from Klaus Mohn, two referees, and participants at the OXCARRE launch conference at Oxford University.


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