IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/empeco/v58y2020i4d10.1007_s00181-018-1548-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does oil rents dependency reduce the quality of education?

Author

Listed:
  • Mohammad Reza Farzanegan

    (Philipps-Universität Marburg
    CESifo)

  • Marcel Thum

    (Technische Universität Dresden
    ifo Dresden)

Abstract

The resource curse hypothesis suggests that resource-rich countries (especially oil-dependent economies) show lower economic growth rate as compared to resource-poor countries. We contribute to this literature by providing empirical evidence on a new transmission channel of the resource curse, namely the negative long-run effect of oil rents on the quality of education. Our empirical analysis for more than 70 countries from the period of 1995–2015 shows a significantly positive effect of oil rents on the quantity of education measured by government spending on primary and secondary education. However, we find a robust and negative long-run effect of oil rents dependency on the objective and subjective indicators of quality of education. Further, panel regressions with country and year fixed effects support our cross-country findings on the negative effect of oil rents dependency on the quality of education.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Marcel Thum, 2020. "Does oil rents dependency reduce the quality of education?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1863-1911, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:58:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1007_s00181-018-1548-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-018-1548-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00181-018-1548-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00181-018-1548-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ebeke, Christian & Omgba, Luc Désiré & Laajaj, Rachid, 2015. "Oil, governance and the (mis)allocation of talent in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 126-141.
    2. Sylwester, Kevin, 2002. "Can education expenditures reduce income inequality?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 43-52, February.
    3. Sweder van Wijnbergen, 1984. "Inflation, Employment, and the Dutch Disease in Oil-Exporting Countries: A Short-Run Disequilibrium Analysis," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 99(2), pages 233-250.
    4. Ebeke, Christian & Omgba, Luc Désiré & Laajaj, Rachid, 2015. "Oil, governance and the (mis)allocation of talent in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 126-141.
    5. Wo[ss]mann, Ludger & West, Martin, 2006. "Class-size effects in school systems around the world: Evidence from between-grade variation in TIMSS," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 695-736, April.
    6. Halvor Mehlum & Karl Moene & Ragnar Torvik, 2006. "Institutions and the Resource Curse," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(508), pages 1-20, January.
    7. Jong–Wha Lee & Robert J. Barro, 2001. "Schooling Quality in a Cross–Section of Countries," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 68(272), pages 465-488, November.
    8. Hanushek Eric A., 2005. "The Economics of School Quality," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 6(3), pages 269-286, August.
    9. Bjorvatn, Kjetil & Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza, 2013. "Demographic Transition in Resource Rich Countries: A Blessing or a Curse?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 337-351.
    10. Robinson, James A. & Torvik, Ragnar & Verdier, Thierry, 2006. "Political foundations of the resource curse," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 447-468, April.
    11. Rogers, Mark Llewellyn, 2008. "Directly unproductive schooling: How country characteristics affect the impact of schooling on growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 356-385, February.
    12. Glewwe, Paul & Maïga, Eugénie & Zheng, Haochi, 2014. "The Contribution of Education to Economic Growth: A Review of the Evidence, with Special Attention and an Application to Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 379-393.
    13. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    14. Alesina, Alberto & Baqir, Reza & Easterly, William, 2000. "Redistributive Public Employment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 219-241, September.
    15. Benedikt Goderis & Samuel W. Malone, 2011. "Natural Resource Booms and Inequality: Theory and Evidence," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 113(2), pages 388-417, June.
    16. Elizabeth Dhuey & Justin Smith, 2018. "How school principals influence student learning," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 851-882, March.
    17. Kaarsen, Nicolai, 2014. "Cross-country differences in the quality of schooling," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 215-224.
    18. Bjorvatn, Kjetil & Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza & Schneider, Friedrich, 2012. "Resource Curse and Power Balance: Evidence from Oil-Rich Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1308-1316.
    19. Altinok, Nadir & Murseli, Hatidje, 2007. "International database on human capital quality," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 237-244, August.
    20. Alexeev, Michael & Conrad, Robert, 2011. "The natural resource curse and economic transition," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 445-461.
    21. Sayre, Edward A. & Yousef, Tarik M. (ed.), 2016. "Young Generation Awakening: Economics, Society, and Policy on the Eve of the Arab Spring," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780190224615.
    22. Michael Alexeev & Robert Conrad, 2009. "The Elusive Curse of Oil," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(3), pages 586-598, August.
    23. Colclough, Christopher, 1982. "The impact of primary schooling on economic development: a review of the evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 167-185, March.
    24. Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza, 2011. "Oil revenue shocks and government spending behavior in Iran," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1055-1069.
    25. Hodler, Roland, 2006. "The curse of natural resources in fractionalized countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(6), pages 1367-1386, August.
    26. Jamison, Eliot A. & Jamison, Dean T. & Hanushek, Eric A., 2007. "The effects of education quality on income growth and mortality decline," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 771-788, December.
    27. Nadir Altinok & Geeta Kingdon, 2012. "New Evidence on Class Size Effects: A Pupil Fixed Effects Approach," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 74(2), pages 203-234, April.
    28. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2008. "The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 607-668, September.
    29. Sajjad F. Dizaji & Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Alireza Naghavi, 2016. "Political institutions and government spending behavior: theory and evidence from Iran," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(3), pages 522-549, June.
    30. Rabah Arezki & Thorvaldur Gylfason, 2013. "Resource Rents, Democracy, Corruption and Conflict: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 22(4), pages 552-569, August.
    31. Benhabib, Jess & Spiegel, Mark M., 1994. "The role of human capital in economic development evidence from aggregate cross-country data," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 143-173, October.
    32. Kjetil Bjorvatn & Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, 2015. "Resource rents, balance of power, and political stability," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 52(6), pages 758-773, November.
    33. Gylfason, Thorvaldur, 2001. "Natural resources, education, and economic development," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 847-859, May.
    34. Benos, Nikos & Zotou, Stefania, 2014. "Education and Economic Growth: A Meta-Regression Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 669-689.
    35. World Bank, 2017. "World Development Indicators 2017," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 26447, December.
    36. Devarajan, Shantayanan & Le, Tuan Minh & Raballand, Gael, 2010. "Increasing public expenditure efficiency in oil-rich economies : a proposal," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5287, The World Bank.
    37. repec:oup:jafrec:v:22:y:2013:i:4:p:-569 is not listed on IDEAS
    38. Stijns, Jean-Philippe, 2006. "Natural resource abundance and human capital accumulation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1060-1083, June.
    39. World Bank, 2015. "The World Bank Annual Report 2015," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 22550, December.
    40. Baldwin-Edwards, Martin, 2011. "Labour immigration and labour markets in the GCC countries: national patterns and trends," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 55239, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    41. Christian Lessmann & Arne Steinkraus, 2017. "The Geography of Natural Resources, Ethnic Inequality and Development," CESifo Working Paper Series 6299, CESifo.
    42. James, Alexander, 2017. "Natural resources and education outcomes in the United States," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 150-164.
    43. Davis, Graham A., 1995. "Learning to love the Dutch disease: Evidence from the mineral economies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 23(10), pages 1765-1779, October.
    44. Jerik Hanushek & Dennis Kimko, 2006. "Schooling, Labor-force Quality, and the Growth of Nations," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 154-193.
    45. Natkhov Timur & Polishchuk Leonid, 2012. "Institutions and the Allocation of Talent," HSE Working papers WP BRP 15/EC/2012, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    46. Hanushek, Eric A., 2013. "Economic growth in developing countries: The role of human capital," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 204-212.
    47. Sachs, Jeffrey D. & Warner, Andrew M., 2001. "The curse of natural resources," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-6), pages 827-838, May.
    48. World Bank, 2018. "The World Bank Annual Report 2018 [Informe Anual 2018 del Banco Mundial]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 30326, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Hans Philipp Hofmann, 2021. "An Old Plug and a New Virus: Effect of Public Corruption on the Covid-19 Immunization Progress," CESifo Working Paper Series 9307, CESifo.
    2. Iman Cheratian & Saleh Goltabar & Hassan Gholipour Fereidouni & Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, 2023. "External Financing and Firm Growth: Evidence from Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Iran," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202308, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    3. Christopher Hartwell & Roman Horvath & Eva Horvathova & Olga Popova, 2022. "Natural resources and income inequality in developed countries: synthetic control method evidence," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 297-338, February.
    4. Rian Hilmawan & Jeremy Clark, 2021. "Resource dependence and the causes of local economic growth: An empirical investigation," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(3), pages 596-626, July.
    5. Soran Mohtadi, 2023. "An empirical analysis on the relationship between resource rents and education: the role of institutional quality thresholds," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 70(2), pages 217-236, June.
    6. Iman Cheratian & Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Saleh Goltabar, 2019. "Oil Price Shocks and Unemployment Rate: New Evidence from the MENA Region," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201931, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    7. Chen, Yufeng & Khurshid, Adnan & Rauf, Abdur & Yang, Hanyao & Calin, Adrian Cantemir, 2023. "Natural resource endowment and human development: Contemporary role of governance," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. Suzanna Elmassah & Eslam A. Hassanein, 2022. "Can the Resource Curse for Well-Being Be Morphed into a Blessing? Investigating the Moderating Role of Environmental Quality, Governance, and Human Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-21, November.
    9. Sosson Tadadjeu & Paul Ningaye & Henri Njangang, 2023. "Are natural resources also bad for infrastructure quality?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 1053-1079, August.
    10. Ishak, Phoebe W. & Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza, 2020. "The impact of declining oil rents on tax revenues: Does the shadow economy matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    11. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, 2021. "The Effect of Public Corruption on Covid-19 Fatality Rate: A Cross-Country Examination," CESifo Working Paper Series 8938, CESifo.
    12. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Reza Zamani, 2023. "Does Oil Corrupt? Evidence from a Multivariate VAR in Iran," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202321, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Marcel Thum, 2017. "Oil Dependency and Quality of Education: New Empirical Evidence," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201745, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    2. Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza & Thum, Marcel, 2017. "More oil, less quality of education? New empirical evidence," CEPIE Working Papers 09/17, Technische Universität Dresden, Center of Public and International Economics (CEPIE).
    3. Mignamissi, Dieudonné & Malah Kuete, Yselle Flora, 2021. "Resource rents and happiness on a global perspective: The resource curse revisited," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Dauvin, Magali & Guerreiro, David, 2017. "The Paradox of Plenty: A Meta-Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 212-231.
    5. Dauvin, Magali & Guerreiro, David, 2017. "The Paradox of Plenty: A Meta-Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 212-231.
    6. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, 2014. "Can Oil-Rich Countries Encourage Entrepreneurship? ‘Yes’, ‘No’ but not ‘Perhaps’," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201406, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    7. Tania Masi & Antonio Savoia & Kunal Sen, 2020. "Is there a fiscal resource curse? Resource rents, fiscal capacity, and political institutions in developing economies," WIDER Working Paper Series wp2020-10, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Ishak, Phoebe W. & Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza, 2020. "The impact of declining oil rents on tax revenues: Does the shadow economy matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    9. Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza & Lessmann, Christian & Markwardt, Gunther, 2018. "Natural resource rents and internal conflicts: Can decentralization lift the curse?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 186-205.
    10. Tania Masi & Antonio Savoia & Kunal Sen, 2018. "Is there a fiscal resource curse? Resource rents, fiscal capacity and political institutions," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-096-18, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    11. Bjorvatn, Kjetil & Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza, 2013. "Demographic Transition in Resource Rich Countries: A Blessing or a Curse?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 337-351.
    12. Dong-Hyeon Kim & Shu-Chin Lin, 2017. "Natural Resources and Economic Development: New Panel Evidence," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 66(2), pages 363-391, February.
    13. Alex O. Acheampong & Janet Dzator & Matthew Abunyewah & Michael Odei Erdiaw-Kwasie & Eric Evans Osei Opoku, 2023. "Sub-Saharan Africa’s Tragedy: Resource Curse, Democracy and Income Inequality," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 471-509, August.
    14. Altinok, Nadir & Aydemir, Abdurrahman, 2017. "Does one size fit all? The impact of cognitive skills on economic growth," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 176-190.
    15. Pérez, Claudia & Claveria, Oscar, 2020. "Natural resources and human development: Evidence from mineral-dependent African countries using exploratory graphical analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    16. Carmignani, Fabrizio, 2013. "Development outcomes, resource abundance, and the transmission through inequality," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 412-428.
    17. Smith, Brock, 2015. "The resource curse exorcised: Evidence from a panel of countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 57-73.
    18. Selahmi, Basma & Liu, Chunping, 2022. "Institutions and the Resource Curse in GCC countries," MPRA Paper 114924, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 26 Aug 2022.
    19. Apergis, Nicholas & Payne, James E., 2014. "The oil curse, institutional quality, and growth in MENA countries: Evidence from time-varying cointegration," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-9.
    20. Bonilla Mejía, Leonardo, 2020. "Mining and human capital accumulation: Evidence from the Colombian gold rush," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:58:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1007_s00181-018-1548-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.