We critically evaluate the empirical basis for the so-called resource curse and find that, despite the topic’s popularity in economics and political science research, this apparent paradox is a red herring. The most commonly used measure of ‘resource abundance’ can be more usefully...

In the present paper an econometric analysis will point out that oil dependence is not an obstacle for economic growth. The balanced panel covers the annual period 2000-2012 and includes the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,...