Are resources a curse?

More about the book

During the last 30 years, many resource-rich countries have experienced economic and political stagnation ("resource curse"). They have developed deficient political systems, in which the process of modern state formation is being undercut ("rentier state"), as well as economic structures in which sectors that provide strong incentives for the accumulation of physical and human capital are under-represented ("Dutch disease"). Since the mid-1990s, this has been very much the same in many of the post-Soviet states with high resource incomes. These incomes present opportunities for reducing poverty and promoting economic growth. But instead of taking advantage of these opportunities, many of them present authoritarian regimes with high levels of corruption, low political freedom, and rent-seeking elites. Are Resources a Curse? provides a detailed analysis of "rentierism" in Post-Soviet states.