The Curse of Natural Resources (with Erwin Bulte)

Annual Review of Resource Economics 1: 139 - 155

A large literature has developed that documents a negative association between the presence of natural resources and economic development. In this paper we explore the empirics and theories of the so-called resource curse, and try to assess its robustness. We conclude that there are many open questions, and that the case of the curse needs revision and nuance.