Author Archive

Transparency International(TI) defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. This definition encompasses corrupt practices in both the public and private sectors. The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks countries according to the perception of corruption in the public sector. The CPI is an aggregate indicator that combines […]

Some scholars suggest that the Middle East’s oil wealth helps explain its failure to democratize. This article examines three aspects of this “oil impedes democracy” claim. First, is it true? Does oil have a consistently antidemocratic effect on states, once other factors are accounted for? Second, can this claim be […]

The seemingly paradoxical outcome of resource-rich countries being development-poor is, in fact, quite predictable given that autocratic governments often rule  resource-rich states. Addressing the resource curse requires changing the incentives facing political leaders so that they are rewarded for transparency and confront robust international legal penalties when they do not. […]

One of the surprising features of modern economic growth is that economies abundant in natural resources have tended to grow slower than economies without substantial natural resources. In this paper we show that economies with a high ratio of natural resource exports to GDP in 1970 (the base year) tended […]

Can a country have plenty of natural resources and yet fail to grow and develop? The resource curse paradox is more than a “worstcase scenario.” There is robust empirical evidence for a negative relationship between natural resource wealth and economic growth. [issuu layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml showflipbtn=true documentid=110509095345-14013963d43e452c9c0528f85a245299 docname=world_bank_from_curse_to_blessing username=FutureChallenges loadinginfotext=From%20Curse%20to%20Blessing.%20Natural%20Resources%20and%20Institutional%20Quality showhtmllink=true tag=botswana […]