This Viewpoint article draws on the doctrine of eminent domain (or compulsory purchase) as an analytical framework to analyse the regional and local impacts of a new source of oil. Sekondi-Takoradi, an oil city located in Ghana, West Africa, is used as a case study to explore the differentiated...

Analysis of the political economy of oil tends to be under the rubric of ‘resource curse’ to the neglect of the broader problematique of the distribution of windfalls and wipeouts, the mediating role of institutions, and broader issues of local economic development. This article...