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Development and Growth in Mineral-Rich Countries

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  • Gylfason, Thorvaldur

Abstract

This paper describes some of the ways in which mineral rents and their management influence economic growth and other determinants of growth as well as some of the reasons why many mineral-rich countries have not managed very well to divert their resource rents to furthering economic and social development ? that is, why natural capital tends to crowd out human, social, financial and real capital. The empirical evidence of these linkages is presented in two rounds. First, we allow World Bank data covering 164 countries in 1960-2000 to speak for themselves through a sequence of bilateral correlations that suggest an inverse relationship between natural resource dependence and growth via human capital. We then repeat the exercise for two aspects of social capital, corruption and democracy, suggesting an additional adverse effect of natural resource dependence via social capital on growth. In the second round, we test for the robustness of natural resource dependence as a determinant of long-run growth by estimating a series of growth regressions for the same 164 countries.

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  • Gylfason, Thorvaldur, 2008. "Development and Growth in Mineral-Rich Countries," CEPR Discussion Papers 7031, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:7031
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    4. Ali Nikzadian & Lotfali Agheli & Abbas Assari Arani & Hossein Sadeghi, 2019. "The Effects of Resource Rent, Human Capital and Government Effectiveness on Government Health Expenditure in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 9(2), pages 381-389.
    5. Balaev, Alexey I. (Балаев, Алексей), 2017. "Factor Analysis of the Russian Budget System Revenues [Факторный Анализ Доходов Российской Бюджетной Системы]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 3, pages 8-37, June.
    6. Mamipour, Siab & Yahoo, Masoud & Mahmoudi, Sahar, 2021. "Modeling for policy: Managing volatile oil windfalls in a resource-rich developing country," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    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. Fofack, Hippolyte, 2009. "Africa and Arab Gulf states : divergent development paths and prospects for convergence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5025, The World Bank.
    9. Thorvaldur Gylfason, 2011. "Natural Resource Endowment: A Mixed Blessing?," CESifo Working Paper Series 3353, CESifo.
    10. Piergiuseppe Fortunato, 2015. "Democratic Government and Development: A Survey," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 32(2), pages 153-177, September.
    11. Wiig, Arne & Kolstad, Ivar, 2012. "If diversification is good, why don't countries diversify more? The political economy of diversification in resource-rich countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 196-203.
    12. Néstor Le Clech & Juan Carlos Guevara-Pérez & R. Urdaneta-Camacho, 2023. "Human Capital and Non-Renewable Natural Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean: ‘Is It a Curse or a Blessing’?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Kolstad, Ivar & Wiig, Arne, 2009. "It's the rents, stupid! The political economy of the resource curse," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 5317-5325, December.
    14. Carmignani, Fabrizio, 2013. "Development outcomes, resource abundance, and the transmission through inequality," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 412-428.
    15. Amir Mousavi & Jeremy Clark, 2021. "The effects of natural resources on human capital accumulation: A literature survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(4), pages 1073-1117, September.
    16. Bleischwitz, Raimund & Dittrich, Monika & Pierdicca, Chiara, 2012. "Coltan from Central Africa, international trade and implications for any certification," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 19-29.
    17. Sheraz, Umar, 2014. "Foresight as a tool for sustainable development in natural resources: The case of mineral extraction in Afghanistan," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 92-100.
    18. Raimund Bleischwitz, 2010. "International economics of resource productivity – Relevance, measurement, empirical trends, innovation, resource policies," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 227-244, August.
    19. Pierre-Guillaume Méon & Khalid Sekkat, 2013. "FDI and Exports Diversification in Arab Countries," Working Papers 816, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2013.
    20. Carmignani, Fabrizio & Avom, Desire, 2010. "The social development effects of primary commodity export dependence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 317-330, December.
    21. Cockx, Lara & Francken, Nathalie, 2014. "Extending the concept of the resource curse: Natural resources and public spending on health," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 136-149.
    22. Yadulla Hasanli & Elkhan Richard Sadik-Zada & Simrah Ismayilova & Günay Rahimli & Farida Ismayilova, 2023. "Could the Lacking Absorption Capacity of the Inflowing Capital Be the Real Cause of the Resource Curse?—A Case Study of Transition Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic growth; Natural resources; Social policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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