Natural Resource Endowment: A Mixed Blessing?

This paper deals with the implications of natural resources for the conduct of economic policies and the role and design of institutions in resource-rich countries. The paper briefly reviews the experience of a few resource-rich countries, highlighting the successes of those that have done well as well as some of the fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policy issues that arise along the way. Special attention is given to Norway, the world's third largest oil exporter, and the role of good governance, including democracy. The paper then turns from anecdotal to econometric analysis by offering a quick glance at some of the empirical cross-country patterns that can be brought to bear on the relationship between natural resources, economic growth, and some of the main determinants of growth, including democracy.