Natural resources, institutions and economic development in Africa

Abstract

This article, first, examines the association between resource rents, institutions and economic growth in Africa, as well as the performance of resource-rich and non-resource-rich countries on institutional quality and political governance. The findings suggest that resource rents failed to contribute to long-term growth on the continent. Additionally, higher resource rents are associated with relatively weak institutions. Second, using historical data, the study tests the validity of the resource-curse hypothesis in two resource-rich countries, namely, Nigeria and Botswana. Although both countries have derived substantial revenues from their natural resource sectors, the distributed-lag results show that Nigeria may have experienced a natural resource curse, while Botswana has not. These findings are presumed, based on the extant literature, to be explained by differences in the level of institutional quality.

Keywords: Natural resources; Institutions; Africa