IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v77y2022ics0301420722001544.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The psychology of mineral wealth: Empirical evidence from Kazakhstan

Author

Listed:
  • Papyrakis, Elissaios
  • Parcero, Osiris Jorge

Abstract

Despite rapidly-expanding academic and policy interest in the links between natural resource wealth and development failures – commonly referred to as the ‘resource curse’ – little attention has been devoted to the psychology behind the phenomenon. Rent-seeking and excessive reliance on mineral revenues can be attributed largely to social psychology. Mineral booms (whether due to the discovery of mineral reserves or to the drastic rise in commodity prices) start as positive income shocks that can subsequently evolve into influential and expectation-changing public and media narratives; these lead consecutively to unrealistic demands that favor immediate consumption of accrued mineral revenues and to the postponement of productive investment. To our knowledge, this paper is the first empirical analysis that tests hypotheses regarding the psychological underpinnings of resource mismanagement in mineral-rich states. Our study relies on an extensive personal survey (of 1977 respondents) carried out in Almaty, Kazakhstan, between May and August 2018. We find empirical support for a positive link between exposure to news and inflated expectations regarding mineral availability, as well as evidence that the latter can generate preferences for excessive consumption, and hence, rent-seeking.

Suggested Citation

  • Papyrakis, Elissaios & Parcero, Osiris Jorge, 2022. "The psychology of mineral wealth: Empirical evidence from Kazakhstan," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:77:y:2022:i:c:s0301420722001544
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102706
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420722001544
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102706?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Belaid, Fateh & Dagher, Leila & Filis, George, 2021. "Revisiting the resource curse in the MENA region," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Fenton Villar, Paul, 2020. "The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and trust in politicians," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    3. Ampofo, Gideon Minua Kwaku & Jinhua, Cheng & Bosah, Philip Chukwunonso & Ayimadu, Edwin Twum & Senadzo, Patrick, 2021. "Nexus between total natural resource rents and public debt in resource-rich countries:A panel data analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Ucbasaran, Deniz & Westhead, Paul & Wright, Mike & Flores, Manuel, 2010. "The nature of entrepreneurial experience, business failure and comparative optimism," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 541-555, November.
    5. Gisa Weszkalnys, 2008. "Hope & Oil: Expectations in São Tomé e Príncipe," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(117), pages 473-482, September.
    6. Jia, Weishi & Redigolo, Giulia & Shu, Susan & Zhao, Jingran, 2020. "Can social media distort price discovery? Evidence from merger rumors," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1).
    7. Elissaios Papyrakis, 2017. "The Resource Curse - What Have We Learned from Two Decades of Intensive Research: Introduction to the Special Issue," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(2), pages 175-185, February.
    8. Wang, Kai-Hua & Liu, Lu & Adebayo, Tomiwa Sunday & Lobon, Oana-Ramona & Claudia, Moldovan Nicoleta, 2021. "Fiscal decentralization, political stability and resources curse hypothesis: A case of fiscal decentralized economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Adonteng-Kissi, Obed, 2017. "Poverty and mine’s compensation package: Experiences of local farmers in Prestea mining community," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 226-234.
    10. Pinar İpek, 2007. "The role of oil and gas in Kazakhstan's foreign policy: Looking east or west?," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(7), pages 1179-1199.
    11. Cooper, Arnold C. & Woo, Carolyn Y. & Dunkelberg, William C., 1988. "Entrepreneurs' perceived chances for success," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 97-108.
    12. Philippe Andrade & Gaetano Gaballo & Eric Mengus & Benoît Mojon, 2019. "Forward Guidance and Heterogeneous Beliefs," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 1-29, July.
    13. Baland, Jean-Marie & Francois, Patrick, 2000. "Rent-seeking and resource booms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 527-542, April.
    14. Ibrahim Ahmed Elbadawi & Raimundo Soto, 2015. "Resource rents, institutions, and violent civil conflicts," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 89-113, February.
    15. Dawson, Chris & Henley, Andrew, 2012. "Something will turn up? Financial over-optimism and mortgage arrears," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 49-52.
    16. Paul Collier, 2017. "The Institutional and Psychological Foundations of Natural Resource Policies," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(2), pages 217-228, February.
    17. Hurd, Michael D, 1990. "Research on the Elderly: Economic Status, Retirement, and Consumption and Saving," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 28(2), pages 565-637, June.
    18. Bayramov, Vugar & Abbas, Gulnara, 2017. "Oil shock in the Caspian Basin: Diversification policy and subsidized economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 149-156.
    19. Yu, Haijing & Hu, Chenpei & Xu, Bing, 2022. "Re-examining the existence of a “resource curse”: A spatial heterogeneity perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1004-1011.
    20. Furnham, Adrian & Boo, Hua Chu, 2011. "A literature review of the anchoring effect," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 35-42, February.
    21. Horváth, Roman & Zeynalov, Ayaz, 2016. "Natural resources, manufacturing and institutions in post-Soviet countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 141-148.
    22. Sabna Ali & Syed Mansoob Murshed & Elissaios Papyrakis, 2020. "Happiness and the Resource Curse," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 437-464, February.
    23. Cust,James Frederick & Mihalyi,David, 2017. "Evidence for a presource curse ? oil discoveries, elevated expectations, and growth disappointments," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8140, The World Bank.
    24. Papyrakis, Elissaios & Gerlagh, Reyer, 2006. "Resource windfalls, investment, and long-term income," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 117-128, June.
    25. Shaffer, Brenda, 2010. "Caspian energy phase II: Beyond 2005," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 7209-7215, November.
    26. Lawrance, Emily C, 1991. "Poverty and the Rate of Time Preference: Evidence from Panel Data," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(1), pages 54-77, February.
    27. Mignamissi, Dieudonné & Malah Kuete, Yselle Flora, 2021. "Resource rents and happiness on a global perspective: The resource curse revisited," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    28. Karatayev, Marat & Clarke, Michèle L., 2016. "A review of current energy systems and green energy potential in Kazakhstan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 491-504.
    29. Slonim, Robert & Wang, Carmen & Garbarino, Ellen & Merrett, Danielle, 2013. "Opting-in: Participation bias in economic experiments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 43-70.
    30. Yang, Jinxuan & Rizvi, Syed Kumail Abbas & Tan, Zhixiong & Umar, Muhammad & Koondhar, Mansoor Ahmed, 2021. "The competing role of natural gas and oil as fossil fuel and the non-linear dynamics of resource curse in Russia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Su, Chi-Wei & Wang, Dan & Mirza, Nawazish & Zhong, Yifan & Umar, Muhammad, 2023. "The impact of consumer confidence on oil prices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. Yadulla Hasanli & Elkhan Richard Sadik-Zada & Simrah Ismayilova & Günay Rahimli & Farida Ismayilova, 2023. "Could the Lacking Absorption Capacity of the Inflowing Capital Be the Real Cause of the Resource Curse?—A Case Study of Transition Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paul Fenton Villar, 2022. "Is there a Mineral-Induced ‘Economic Euphoria’?: Evidence from Latin America," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1403-1430, April.
    2. Alssadek, Marwan & Benhin, James, 2023. "Natural resource curse: A literature survey and comparative assessment of regional groupings of oil-rich countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Lotfalipour, Mohammad Reza & sargolzaie, Ali & Salehnia, Narges, 2022. "Natural resources: A curse on welfare?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Morck, Randall & Nakamura, Masao, 2018. "Japan's ultimately unaccursed natural resources-financed industrialization," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 32-54.
    5. Slesman, Ly, 2022. "The elusive curse of natural resources on happiness," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    6. Awoa Awoa, Paul & Oyono, Jean Cedric & Ngah Atangana, Bénédicte & Okere Atanga, Donald & Zeh, Inès Perolde, 2022. "Natural resource and entrepreneurship: Economic freedom matters," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Jonathan Munemo, 2022. "Do African resource rents promote rent-seeking at the expense of entrepreneurship?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 1647-1660, March.
    8. Liu, Kaiyuan & Afzal, Ayesha & Zhong, Yifan & Hasnaoui, Amir & Yue, Xiao-Guang, 2023. "Investigating the resource curse: Evidence from MENA and N-11 countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    9. Blanco, Luisa & Grier, Robin, 2012. "Natural resource dependence and the accumulation of physical and human capital in Latin America," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 281-295.
    10. Li, Menghan & Zhang, Kaiyue & Alamri, Ahmad Mohammed & Ageli, Mohammed Moosa & Khan, Numan, 2023. "Resource curse hypothesis and sustainable development: Evaluating the role of renewable energy and R&D," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    11. Parker, Simon C., 2013. "Do serial entrepreneurs run successively better-performing businesses?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 652-666.
    12. Ruba Abdullah Aljarallah, 2020. "The Economic Impacts of Natural Resource Dependency in Gulf Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(6), pages 36-52.
    13. Girard, Victoire & Kudebayeva, Alma & Toews, Gerhard, 2020. "Inflated Expectations and Commodity Prices: Evidence from Kazakhstan," GLO Discussion Paper Series 469, Global Labor Organization (GLO), revised 2020.
    14. Danny Miller & Cyrille Sardais, 2015. "Bifurcating Time: How Entrepreneurs Reconcile the Paradoxical Demands of the Job," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(3), pages 489-512, May.
    15. Wang, Xiang & Yin, Jian & Yang, Yao & Muda, Iskandar & Abduvaxitovna, Shamansurova Zilola & AlWadi, Belal Mahmoud & Castillo-Picon, Jorge & Abdul-Samad, Zulkiflee, 2023. "Relationship between the resource curse, Forest management and sustainable development and the importance of R&D Projects," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    16. Koryak, Oksana & Lockett, Andy & Hayton, James & Nicolaou, Nicos & Mole, Kevin, 2018. "Disentangling the antecedents of ambidexterity: Exploration and exploitation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 413-427.
    17. Hasanov, Fakhri J. & Aliyev, Ruslan & Taskin, Dilvin & Suleymanov, Elchin, 2023. "Oil rents and non-oil economic growth in CIS oil exporters. The role of financial development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    18. Destek, Mehmet Akif & Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Aydın, Sercan & Shakib, Mohammed & Destek, Gamze, 2023. "Investigating the role of economic complexity in evading the resource curse," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    19. Bengtsson, Ola & Ekeblom, Daniel, 2014. "The Bright but Right View? A New Type of Evidence on Entrepreneurial Optimism," Working Paper Series 1008, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    20. Wang, Wencheng & Ning, Zinan & Shu, Yang & Riti, Joshua Sunday & Riti, Miriam-Kamah J., 2023. "Natural resource rents and public debts nexus in African resource-rich and most indebted nations: Issues with aggregation bias," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:77:y:2022:i:c:s0301420722001544. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30467 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.