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Natural resources and the tradeoff between authoritarianism and development

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  • Al-Ubaydli, Omar

Abstract

Why do African and Middle Eastern countries seem cursed by an abundance of natural resources yet USA, Australia and Norway seem blessed? A growing literature has argued that the benevolence or malignance of natural resources depends upon the quality of institutions. This paper offers a new explanation based on associational freedom and its interaction with the political system. The model predicts that natural resources have an adverse impact on economic performance and transition to democracy in authoritarian regimes but not in democracies. It also predicts that repression of associational freedom will be increasing in natural resources in authoritarian regimes. I test the model's predictions using fixed-effects regressions on an international panel from 1975 to 2000 and find support.

Suggested Citation

  • Al-Ubaydli, Omar, 2012. "Natural resources and the tradeoff between authoritarianism and development," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 137-152.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:81:y:2012:i:1:p:137-152
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2011.09.009
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    Cited by:

    1. Niclas Berggren & Jerg Gutmann, 2020. "Securing personal freedom through institutions: the role of electoral democracy and judicial independence," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 165-186, April.
    2. Narantungalag, Odmaa, 2022. "The effects of natural resource extraction on household expenditure patterns: Evidence from Mongolia," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1077, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Odmaa Narantungalag,, 2022. "The effects of natural resource extraction on household expenditure patterns: Evidence from Mongolia," Discussion Papers 2204, School of Economics and Finance, Massey University, New Zealand.
    4. Belaid, Fateh & Dagher, Leila & Filis, George, 2021. "Revisiting the resource curse in the MENA region," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Jun Liu & Changchun Lin & Xin Wang & Xiuli Liu, 2024. "Spatiotemporal differentiation and analysis of factors influencing high-quality development of resource-based cities: An empirical study based in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(5), pages 1-23, May.
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    8. Bergougui, Brahim & Murshed, Syed Mansoob, 2020. "New evidence on the oil-democracy nexus utilising the Varieties of Democracy data," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    9. Yap, Woon Kan & Anuar, Nor Liyana M. & Choong, Yun Cyn, 2025. "The blessing and curse of natural resource dependence: A stochastic frontier analysis on productivity, resource rent, governance and sustainability," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    10. Lawer, Eric Tamatey & Lukas, Martin C. & Jørgensen, Stig H., 2017. "The neglected role of local institutions in the ‘resource curse’ debate. Limestone mining in the Krobo region of Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 43-52.
    11. Zheng, Zhun & Lisovskiy, Alexander & Vasa, László & Strielkowski, Wadim & Yang, Yanwu, 2023. "Resources curse and sustainable development perspective: Fresh evidence from oil rich countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    12. Guo, Yani & Zheng, Haixia & Zeng, Yun & Fan, Wei & Albahooth, Bayan & Bhuiyan, Rubaiyat Ahsan, 2023. "Natural resources extraction of RCEP trade bloc: Examining geopolitical risk and economic situation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    13. Shuo, Zhang & laiwang, Xi & Junjun, Gao, 2024. "Impact of natural resource rents on global trade dynamics in RCEP: Economic and geopolitical interdependencies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    14. Al-Ubaydli, Omar & McCabe, Kevin & Twieg, Peter, 2014. "Can More Be Less? An Experimental Test of the Resource Curse," Journal of Experimental Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 39-58, April.
    15. Havranek, Tomas & Horvath, Roman & Zeynalov, Ayaz, 2016. "Natural Resources and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 134-151.
    16. Wang, Jia & Tian, Guixian, 2023. "Driver or a Barrier to the Economy: Natural Resources a blessing or a curse for Developed Economies?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    17. Patricia Agyapong, 2026. "Natural Resources and the Public’s Political Trust," CSAE Working Paper Series 2026-03, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.

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    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making

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