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The Political Economy Of Petroleum Wealth: Some Policy Alternatives

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  • MICHAEL L. ROSS

    (University of California, Los Angeles, USA)

Abstract

Mineral wealth tends to make countries less democratic and more likely to experience a civil war. Many countries also find it hard to use their natural resource revenues to make high-quality, growth-enhancing investments. I argue that these problems are caused, in part, by the unusual qualities of resource revenues — their great size, their non-tax source, their lack of stability, and their secrecy. While there is no universal formula for changing these four qualities, I present a menu of policies that could make natural resource revenues smaller, smoother and more transparent, and hence easier for governments to invest productively.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael L. Ross, 2013. "The Political Economy Of Petroleum Wealth: Some Policy Alternatives," Middle East Development Journal (MEDJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(02), pages 1-19.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:medjxx:v:05:y:2013:i:02:n:s1793812013500090
    DOI: 10.1142/S1793812013500090
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. John D. Huber & Laura Mayoral, 2019. "Group inequality and the severity of civil conflict," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 1-41, March.

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