This paper shows that whether natural resources are good or bad for a country's development depends crucially on the interaction between institutional setting and the type of resources that the country possesses. Some natural resources are for economical and technical reasons more likely to...

In this paper, I discuss the reasons for Costa Rica's economic performance over the last quarter of a century. Three complementary sets of policies (investments in human capital, careful stabilization, and an intelligent and aggressive integration into the world economy) explain the successful...

The current paper, first, documents Ghana's "success" story. Second, it identifies the strategy employed. Third, it provides a brief history of why and how the strategy was adopted. Fourth, it provides some rationale for the success of the strategy, including the roles of domestic and...