It has been widely argued that natural-resource wealth is a curse that leads to corrupt politicians, closed and illiberal societies, and defunct economies. This column presents new evidence on the political impacts of oil wealth. It argues that the effects depend on geology and history, shedding light on the recent uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.
Can the recent protests across the Middle East and North Africa help spread democracy in the region? Many respond to this question by pointing out that a lot of these countries have substantial oil wealth and that natural resources are often a curse. For example, oil wealth is said to make bad authoritarian regimes more durable because it enables dictators to become stronger by funding patronage. But how do we reconcile the coexistence of some oil-rich non-democratic regimes, such as Saudi Arabia’s royal family, and some of the most democratic countries, like Norway, where the Norwegian Oil Fund is used to fuel the economy?
Πηγή: Voxeu