Incomplete rural property rights are endemic throughout most of the developing world. This book explores the political origins of this lack of rights and how it negatively impacts rural autonomy and development outcomes such as economic growth, inequality, urbanization, education, and the links between political parties and voters.
Provides an innovative theory of regime transitions and outcomes, and tests it using extensive evidence between 1800 and today.
Challenging the conventional notion of the "resource curse," this book presents the idea of an "institutions curse," suggesting that poor governance, rather than natural resources, leads to negative outcomes like authoritarianism and economic stagnation. It posits that many developing nations default to resource extraction due to historical legacies, which hampers the growth of diversified economies. The author, Victor Menaldo, argues that natural resources can enhance state capacity, capitalism, and democracy, ultimately benefiting development despite the challenges posed by weak institutions.