Leader behaviour and the natural resource curse

被引:99
作者
Caselli, Francesco [1 ]
Cunningham, Tom [2 ]
机构
[1] Natl Bur Econ Res, London Sch Econ, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
[2] London Sch Econ, Ctr Econ Performance, London WC2A 2AE, England
来源
OXFORD ECONOMIC PAPERS-NEW SERIES | 2009年 / 61卷 / 04期
基金
英国经济与社会研究理事会;
关键词
GROWTH; OIL; POLITICIANS; COUNTRIES;
D O I
10.1093/oep/gpp023
中图分类号
F [经济];
学科分类号
02 ;
摘要
We discuss political economy mechanisms which can explain the resource curse, in which an increase in the size of resource rents causes a decrease in the economy's total value added. We identify a number of channels through which resource rents will alter the incentives of a political leader. Some of these induce greater investment by the leader in assets that favour growth (infrastructure, rule of law, etc.), others lead to a potentially catastrophic drop in such activities. As a result, the effect of resource abundance can be highly non-monotonic. We argue that it is critical to understand how resources affect the leader's 'survival function', i.e. the reduced-form probability of retaining power. We also briefly survey decentralized mechanisms, in which rents induce a reallocation of labour by private agents, crowding out productive activity more than proportionately. We argue that these mechanisms cannot be fully understood without simultaneously studying leader behaviour.
引用
收藏
页码:628 / 650
页数:23
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