Natural Resources and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis

Tomas Havranek, Roman Horvath and Ayaz Zeynalov

Working Papers from Czech National Bank, Research and Statistics Department

Abstract: An important question in development studies is how natural resource richness affects long-term economic growth. No consensus answer, however, has yet emerged, with approximately 40% of empirical papers finding a negative effect, 40% finding no effect, and 20% finding a positive effect. Does the literature taken together imply the existence of the so-called natural resource curse? In a quantitative survey of 402 estimates reported in 33 studies, we find that the effect of natural resources on growth is very small when potential publication bias and method heterogeneity are taken into account. Our results also suggest that three aspects of study design are especially effective in explaining the differences in results across studies: 1) including an interaction between natural resources and institutional quality, 2) controlling for the level of investment activity, and 3) distinguishing between different types of natural resources.

Keywords: Economic growth; institutions; meta-analysis; natural resources; publication selection bias (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C51 O13 Q30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene, nep-env and nep-gro
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (245)

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https://www.cnb.cz/export/sites/cnb/en/economic-re ... wp/cnbwp_2016_01.pdf

Related works:
Journal Article: Natural Resources and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis (2016)
Working Paper: Natural Resources and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis (2016)
Working Paper: Natural Resources and Economic Growth: A Meta-Analysis (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cnb:wpaper:2016/01

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