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Resource Rents, Political Institutions and Economic Growth

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  • Ibrahim Ahmed Elbadawi
  • Raimundo Soto

    (Instituto de Economía. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.)

Abstract

This paper contributes to the empirical literature on oil and other point-source resource curse. We find that the curse does exist but conditional on bad political governance. Unlike previous studies we estimate a flexible econometric growth model that accounts for long-term country heterogeneity and cross-dependency and retains the virtues of the recent literature, including short-run flexibility, cointegration and error-correction mechanisms. We unpack political institutions into those reflecting the degree of inclusiveness (Polity) and credibility of intertemporal commitments (Political Check and Balances) and find that resource-rich countries with low levels on both scores are likely to experience the curse, while those with high enough levels may turn resource rents into a driver of growth. Countries with high scores on only one dimension may avoid the curse but are not likely to effectively use resource rents to promote growth. This suggests that for the oil-rich Arab world to achieve sustained growth, the Arab spring should not only bring democracy, as badly needed as it is, but should also lay the foundations for strong systems of political checks and balances.

Suggested Citation

  • Ibrahim Ahmed Elbadawi & Raimundo Soto, 2012. "Resource Rents, Political Institutions and Economic Growth," Documentos de Trabajo 413, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
  • Handle: RePEc:ioe:doctra:413
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Halvor Mehlum & Karl Moene & Ragnar Torvik, 2006. "Institutions and the Resource Curse," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(508), pages 1-20, January.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mohaddes, M. & Nugent, J. & Selim, H., 2018. "Reforming Fiscal Institutions in Resource-Rich Arab Economies: Policy Proposals," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1848, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    2. Ibrahim Ahmed Elbadawi & Raimundo Soto, 2015. "Resource rents, institutions, and violent civil conflicts," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 89-113, February.
    3. Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, 2012. "Fiscal Institutions in Resource-Rich Economies: Lessons from Chile and Norway," Documentos de Trabajo 416, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    4. Ilham Haouas & Raimundo Soto, 2012. "Has the UAE Escaped the Oil Curse?," Documentos de Trabajo 412, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    5. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Naeem, Muhammad & Ahad, Muhammad & Tahir, Iqbal, 2018. "Is natural resource abundance a stimulus for financial development in the USA?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 223-232.
    6. Gokmenoglu, Korhan K. & Rustamov, Bezhan, 2022. "The role of the natural resource abundance in the short and long run: The case of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    7. Nolazco Cama, Jose Luis & Bravo-Ortega, Claudio, 2015. "Instituciones, Recursos Naturales Y Sus Efectos En El Crecimiento Economico: Un Sistema De Ecuaciones Simultáneas En Panel De Datos [Institutions, Natural Resources And Its Impact On Economic Growt," MPRA Paper 74421, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Gurbanov, Sarvar & Nugent, Jeffrey B. & Mikayilov, Jeyhun, 2017. "Management of Oil Revenues: Has That of Azerbaijan Been Prudent?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5(2), pages 1-20.
    9. Ahmed Galal & Hoda Selim, 2013. "The Elusive Quest for Economic Development in the Arab Countries," Middle East Development Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1350002-131, January.
    10. Ghassan Dibeh, 2014. "The Political Economy of Monetary Policy in Resource-Rich Arab Economies," Working Papers 896, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2014.
    11. Magda Kandil & Nazire Nergiz Dincer, 2007. "A Comparative Analysis of Exchange Rate Fluctuations and Economic Activity: The Cases of Egypt and Turkey," Working Papers 722, Economic Research Forum, revised 01 Jan 2007.
    12. Ebrahimi Salari, Taghi & Naji Meidani, Ali Akbar & Shabani Koshalshahi, Zeinab & Ajori Ayask, Amir Abbas, 2022. "The threshold effect of HDI on the relationship between financial development and oil revenues," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    13. Polyzos, Efstathios & Kuck, Simon & Abdulrahman, Khadija, 2022. "Demographic change and economic growth: The role of natural resources in the MENA region," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 1-13.
    14. Mina, Wasseem & Jaeck, Louis, 2015. "Labor Market Flexibility and FDI Flows: Evidence from Oil-Rich GCC and Middle Income Countries," MPRA Paper 62652, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. repec:rye:wpaper:wp041} is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Hoda Selim & Chahir Zaki, 2014. "The Institutional Curse of Natural Resources in the Arab World," Working Papers 890, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2014.
    17. Abbas Al-Mejren, 2015. "Impacts of Fiscal Legal Setting and Institutions on Budget Outcomes in the Rentire State of Kuwait," Working Papers 920, Economic Research Forum, revised Jun 2015.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Oil and natural resource curse; economic growth; democracy; political checks and balances;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth

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