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The Effect of Oil and Diamonds on Democracy: is there really a resource curse?

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  • Charlotte Werger

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of natural resources on the level of democracy in a set of countries. The main model is a fixed effects regression model, where the focus is on within-country variation over time. The effect of different resources is investigated, namely the effect of oil, diamonds and agriculture. Furthermore, a distinction is made between two broad types of resources, diffuse and point resources, to explore whether the effect on democracy is similar or different. Criticism in existing literature onthe presence of the resource curse is taken into account. Production data on natural resources is used and not the common variable ‘resource exports-over-GDP’, the latter being flawed. A possible endogeneity problem is taken into account, as well as the persistence of democracy over time. I find evidence for a resource curse of oil on democracy. It is present in different model specifications, such as models with either fixed effects or a lagged dependent variable. There only seems to be very weak evidence for a negative effect of point resources on democracy, compared to the effect of diffuse resources. It is argued that this might be due to the geographic concentration of these types of resources, which enables governments and elite groups to capture resource rents.

Suggested Citation

  • Charlotte Werger, 2009. "The Effect of Oil and Diamonds on Democracy: is there really a resource curse?," OxCarre Working Papers 030, Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:030
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    File URL: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:dec3008b-8d1e-407b-a984-2164c0fc5aae
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian von Haldenwang & Maksym Ivanyna, 2017. "Does the political resource curse affect public finance? The vulnerability of tax revenue in resource-rich countries," WIDER Working Paper Series 007, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Fisayo Fagbemi & Grace Omowumi Adeoye, 2020. "Nigerian Governance Challenge: Exploring the Role of Natural Resource Rents," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 12(3), pages 335-358, September.
    3. Christian von Haldenwang & Maksym Ivanyna, 2017. "Does the political resource curse affect public finance?: The vulnerability of tax revenue in resource-rich countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-7, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Natural resources; democracy; resource curse;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q38 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy (includes OPEC Policy)
    • Q32 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Exhaustible Resources and Economic Development
    • Q39 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Other
    • P28 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Natural Resources; Environment
    • N50 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - General, International, or Comparative

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