Resource Endowments and Underdevelopment. Is the Resource Curse Theory Convincing?

Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Economics - Economic Cycle and Growth, grade: 70, Oxford University (Department of International Development), language: English, abstract: Given the recent attention paid to the concept, a number of studies have investigated the intricacies of the resource curse. This essay will therefore examine whether the resource curse theory is convincing. To what extent can it explain phenomena relating to lack of development and economic growth? Given the vastness of the literature covering the resource curse, the essay will attempt to establish some order by presenting the most significant empirical findings, followed by an account of economics-based, institutional and anthropological understandings of the phenomenon. It will be argued that the resource curse concept is perhaps a misguided attempt to provide a heuristic device in order to understand broader development challenges. While institutions are indeed a crucial component determining the effects resource dependence can have on societal welfare, a deeper anthropological account highlights some of the gaps inherent in subscribing to the idea of a curse.