This paper evaluates the impact of major natural resource discoveries since 1950 on GDP per capita and other economic and social indicators. Using panel fixed-effects estimation ad resource discoveries in countries that were not previously resource-rich, I find a positive effect on GDP per...

A large body of scholarship finds that there is a relationship between reliance on natural resources and authoritarianism. Extant cross-country findings are derived, however, from panel regressions that assume random effects, where the dataset’s time dimension is relatively short. Because...

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Part One: Introduction -- 1. Accounting for Growth and Decline in Venezuela -- 2. Trends and Cycles in the Venezuelan Economy -- Part 2. A Critical Survey Of The “Resource Curse” Literature -- 3. Economic Explanations...

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations -- Part One: Introduction -- 1. Accounting for Growth and Decline in Venezuela -- 2. Trends and Cycles in the Venezuelan Economy -- Part Two: A Critical Survey of the "Resource Curse" Literature...