Commodities, Natural Resources and Growth : A Survey Through the History of Economics

The paper presents a survey of the complex relation between the production of primary commodities and economic growth throughout the history of economic thought. Some of the main topics investigated are: the apparent contrast between the theoretical advantages of natural wealth and the historical record; the impact of natural resource booms on the level of activity of other productive sectors of the economy; the different potential growth effects of the primary and secondary economic sectors; the secular trend and cyclical instability of terms of trade between primary and industrial goods; and the approaches to positive links between primary commodities exports and growth