The Paradox of Plenty: A Meta-Analysis

Magali Dauvin and David Guerreiro ()

No 2016-14, EconomiX Working Papers from University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX

Abstract: Since Sachs and Warners seminal paper in 1995, a conventional wisdom has spread in the academic literature stating that a high endowment in natural resources may be detrimental for growth. The great heterogeneity of development paths followed among resource-rich countries has shown that the resource curse was not always inevitable, and that there existed ways to make the most of ones natural wealth. We identified three sources of heterogeneity in the literature: the use of abundance and intensity measures, the account for appropriability aspects of resources and finally, the role of institutions. In this paper, we aim at providing quantitative results on the magnitude of the link between natural resources and growth found in the literature, as well as discussing, on quantitative bases, whether the sources of heterogeneity are significant. To this end, we implement a meta-analysis based on 67 empirical studies that investigate the link between natural resources and growth, totaling 1405 estimates. The results show a "soft" curse that may be reverted together with the importance of institutions in mitigating the curse.

Keywords: Meta-analysis; Resource Curse; Natural Resources; Appropriability; Institutions. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C82 O11 O13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30 pages
Date: 2016
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Journal Article: The Paradox of Plenty: A Meta-Analysis (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:drm:wpaper:2016-14

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