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Resources, conflict, and economic development in Africa

Achyuta Adhvaryu, James Fenske, Gaurav Khanna and Anant Nyshadham

Journal of Development Economics, 2021, vol. 149, issue C

Abstract: Evidence suggests that natural resources have driven conflict and underdevelopment in modern Africa. We show that this relationship exists primarily when neighboring regions are resource-rich. When neighbors are resource-poor, own resources instead drive economic growth. To motivate the empirical study of this set of facts, we present a simple model of parties engaged in potential conflict over resources, revealing that economic prosperity is a function of equilibrium conflict prevalence, determined not just by a region's own resources but also by the resources of its neighbors. Structural estimates confirm the model's predictions, and reveal that conflict equilibria are more prevalent where institutional quality is worse.

Keywords: Conflict; Resource curse; Institutions; Nighttime lights; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Resources, Conflict, and Economic Development in Africa (2018) Downloads
Working Paper: Resources, Conflict, and Economic Development in Africa (2018) Downloads
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:149:y:2021:i:c:s0304387820301735

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102598

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