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82-686: In 1711, The Spectator noted, "It is generally observed, that in countries of the greatest plenty there is the poorest living." The idea that resources might be more of an economic curse than a blessing emerged in debates in the 1950s and the 1960s about the economic problems of low and middle-income countries. In 1993 Richard Auty first used the term resource curse to describe how countries rich in mineral resources were unable to use that wealth to boost their economies and how, counter-intuitively, these countries had lower economic growth than countries without an abundance of natural resources. An influential 1995 study by Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner found

164-564: A currency peg , appreciation of the currency can damage other sectors, leading to a compensating unfavorable balance of trade . As imports become cheaper in all sectors, internal employment suffers and with it the skill infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities of the nation. To compensate for the loss of local employment opportunities, government resources are used to artificially create employment. The increasing national revenue will often also result in higher government spending on health, welfare, military, and public infrastructure, and if this

246-420: A "curse" or a "blessing" and that the distinction is conditioned by domestic and international factors, both amenable to change through public policy, namely, human capital formation and economic openness." Dutch disease , defined as the relationship between the increase in the economic development of a specific sector (for example natural resources ) and a decline in other sectors, first became apparent after

328-696: A 0.7 percentage point decrease in income growth rates. No doubt, coal mining provides opportunities for relatively high-wage employment in the region, but its effect on prosperity appears to be negative in the longer run." Another example was the Spanish Empire which obtained enormous wealth from its resource-rich colonies in South America in the sixteenth century. The large cash inflows from silver reduced incentives for industrial development in Spain. Innovation and investment in education were therefore neglected, so that

410-821: A 2017 study, "social forces condition the extent to which oil-rich nations provide vital public services to the population. Although it is often assumed that oil wealth leads to the formation of a distributive state that generously provides services in the areas of water, sanitation, education, health care, or infrastructure... quantitative tests reveal that oil-rich nations who experience demonstrations or riots provide better water and sanitation services than oil-rich nations who do not experience such dissent. Subsequent tests find that oil-rich nations who experience nonviolent, mass-based movements provide better water and sanitation services than those who experience violent, mass-based movements." Studies suggest countries with abundant natural resources have higher levels of gender inequality in

492-459: A combination of generous benefits and low taxes. In many economies that are not resource-dependent, governments tax citizens, who demand efficient and responsive government in return. This bargain establishes a political relationship between rulers and subjects. In countries whose economies are dominated by natural resources, however, rulers don't need to tax their citizens because they have a guaranteed source of income from natural resources. Because

574-434: A group of Indians, who battle and kill many of his shipmates. After fleeing, Inkle hides in a cave where he discovers Yarico, an Indian maiden. They become enamored with one another's clothing and physical appearances, and Yarico for the next several months hides her lover from her people and provides him with food and fresh water. Eventually, a ship passes, headed for Barbadoes, and Inkle and Yarico use this opportunity to leave

656-480: A nation's poor ends up in the pockets of the rich, or it may be squandered on grand palaces and massive showcase projects instead of being invested productively." A 2016 study found that mining in Africa substantially increases corruption; an individual within 50 kilometres (31 mi) of a recently opened mine is 33% more likely to have paid a bribe the past year than a person living within 50 km of mines that "will open" in

738-572: A polite manner. In keeping with the values of Enlightenment philosophies of their time, the authors of The Spectator promoted family, marriage, and courtesy. Despite a modest daily circulation of approximately 3,000 copies, The Spectator was widely read; Joseph Addison estimated that each number was read by thousands of Londoners, about a tenth of the capital's population at the time. Contemporary historians and literary scholars, meanwhile, do not consider this to be an unreasonable claim; most readers were not themselves subscribers but patrons of one of

820-420: A productive populace and therefore does not have to risk liberalization. By contrast, in a dictatorship with few natural resources, there may be a necessity for the ruler to liberalize his society somewhat so that the economy can be organized more efficiently, and to invest in education and healthcare to create a skilled and healthy workforce. Bueno de Mesquita cites Ghana and Taiwan as examples of countries where

902-402: A strong correlation between natural resource abundance and poor economic growth. As of 2016, hundreds of studies have evaluated the effects of resource wealth on a wide range of economic outcomes, and offered many explanations for how, why, and when a resource curse is likely to occur. While "the lottery analogy has value but also has shortcomings", many observers have likened the resource curse to

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984-647: A target audience for The Spectator, because one of the aims of the periodical was to increase the number of women who were "of a more elevated life and conversation." Steele states in The Spectator , No. 10, "But there are none to whom this paper will be more useful than to the female world." He recommends that readers of the paper consider it "as a part of the tea-equipage" and set aside time to read it each morning. The Spectator sought to provide readers with topics for well-reasoned discussion, and to equip them to carry on conversations and engage in social interactions in

1066-575: Is a potential source of conflict between factions fighting for a share of the revenue, which may take the form of armed separatist conflicts in regions where the resources are produced or internal conflict between different government ministries or departments for access to budgetary allocations. This tends to erode governments' abilities to function effectively. Even when politically stable, countries whose economies are dominated by resource extraction industries tend to be less democratic and more corrupt. A 2019 meta-analysis of 69 studies found "that there

1148-412: Is because leaders in resource-rich countries are less sensitive to being punished in elections if they take actions that adversely affect foreign investors. Countries with higher natural resource export share show a correlation between receiving Foreign direct investment and decreasing democracy index , while this correlation is opposite for countries with low natural resource export share. According to

1230-511: Is diminished representation at the center." A 2018 study in International Studies Quarterly found that oil wealth was associated with weaker private liberties (freedom of movement, freedom of religion, the right to property, and freedom from forced labor). Research by Nathan Jensen indicates that countries that have resource wealth are considered to have a greater political risk for foreign direct investors. He argues that this

1312-420: Is done corruptly or inefficiently it can be a burden on the economy. While the decrease in the sectors exposed to international competition leaves the economy vulnerable to price changes in the natural resource and consequently even greater dependence on natural resource revenue, this can be managed by active and effective use of hedge instruments such as forwards , futures , options , and swaps ; however, if it

1394-521: Is managed inefficiently or corruptly, this can lead to disastrous results. Also, since productivity generally increases faster in the manufacturing sector than in the government, the economy will have lower productivity gains than before. According to a 2020 study, giant resource discoveries led to a substantial appreciation of the real exchange rate. Prices for some natural resources are subject to wide fluctuation; for example, crude oil prices rose from around $ 3 per barrel to $ 12/bbl in 1974 following

1476-412: Is necessary to maintain their states' finances. There is a lack of investment in other sectors of the economy which is further exacerbated by declines the commodity's price. While resource sectors tend to produce large financial revenues, they often add few jobs to the economy, and tend to operate as enclaves with few forward and backward connections to the rest of the economy. Another possible effect of

1558-411: Is no aggregate relationship between natural resources and conflict." According to a 2017 review study, "while some studies support the link between resource scarcity/abundance and armed conflict, others find no or only weak links." According to one academic study, a country that is otherwise typical but has primary commodity exports around 5% of GDP has a 6% risk of conflict, but when exports are 25% of GDP

1640-504: Is no consensus view on the effect of natural resource abundance on economic development. Publishing in 2022, academic Jing Vivian Zhan observes that different studies, all with supporting empirical evidence, show contradictory findings in on this point, as well as whether the effects vary across different historical time periods. Whether studies look at short-term or long-term economic effects of resource abundance may also result in different conclusions. A 2016 meta-study found weak support for

1722-642: Is spent, the system of government, institutional quality, type of resources, and early vs. late industrialization all have been used to explain successes and failures. Since 2018, a discussion has emerged concerning the potential for a resource curse related to critical materials for renewable energy . This could concern either countries with abundant renewable energy resources, such as sunshine, or critical materials for renewable energy technologies, such as neodymium , cobalt , or lithium . Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, who developed selectorate theory , explains that when an autocratic country has lots of natural resources,

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1804-415: Is that oil strengthens authoritarian regimes, making transitions to democracy less likely. The second is that oil wealth weakens democracies. Research generally supports the first theory but is mixed on the second. A 2019 study found that oil wealth is associated with increases in the level of personalism in dictatorships. Both pathways might result from the ability of oil-rich states to provide citizens with

1886-481: Is the devil's excrement." A 2011 study in The Review of Economics and Statistics found that commodities have historically always shown greater price volatility than manufactured goods and that globalization has reduced this volatility. Commodities are a key reason why poor countries are more volatile than rich countries. "Oil production generally takes place in an economic enclave, meaning it has few direct effects on

1968-653: Is the key variable in the vast majority of the studies that identify some type of curse." A 2014 meta-analysis confirms the negative impact of oil wealth on democratization. A 2016 study challenges the conventional academic wisdom on the relationship between oil and authoritarianism. A 2022 study found that the resource curse is tied only to easily-extractable oil, not to oil that requires complex extraction. Other forms of resource wealth have also been found to strengthen autocratic rule. A 2016 study found that resource windfalls have no political impact on democracies and deeply entrenched authoritarian regimes, but significantly exacerbate

2050-604: The American Economic Review found that mining extraction contributed to conflicts in Africa at the local level over the period 1997–2010. A 2017 study in Security Studies found that while there is a statistical relationship between oil wealth and ethnic war, the use of qualitative methods reveals "that oil has rarely been a deep cause of ethnic war." The emergence of the Sicilian Mafia has been attributed to

2132-591: The 1973 oil crisis and fell from $ 27/bbl to below $ 10/bbl during the 1986 glut . In the decade from 1998 to 2008, it rose from $ 10/bbl to $ 145/bbl, before falling by more than half to $ 60/bbl over a few months. When government revenues are dominated by inflows from natural resources (for example, 99.3% of Angola 's exports came from just oil and diamonds in 2005), the volatility can disrupt government planning and debt service . Abrupt changes in economic realities that result from this often provoke widespread breaking of contracts or curtailment of social programs, eroding

2214-460: The Rosenwald schoolbuilding program . A 2021 study found that European regions with a history of coal mining had 10% smaller per-capita GDP than comparable regions. The authors attribute this to lower investments in human capital. Resource extraction driven economies can be argued to potentially have negative effects on human capital through several different means. "Addictive economies" is a term that

2296-441: The price of oil rises, legislators affiliated with right-wing paramilitary groups win office more in oil-producing municipalities. Consistent with the use of force to gain power, positive price shocks also induce an increase in paramilitary violence and reduce electoral competition: fewer candidates run for office, and winners are elected with a wider vote margin. Ultimately, fewer centrist legislators are elected to office, and there

2378-535: The 1970s and 1980s; Iran's long-standing suspicion of Western powers; the United States' relations with Iraq and Iran. It is not clear whether the pattern of petro-aggression found in oil-rich countries also applies to other natural resources besides oil. Some scholars argue that the relationship between oil and interstate war is primarily driven by the case of the Iran–Iraq War and that the overall evidence points in

2460-551: The 1970s, oil-producing countries did not have democratization levels that differed from other countries. Oil-abundant authoritarian governments are suggested to earn high levels of income for oil but spend an extremely minimal amount on social expenditures for individuals being ruled and democracies are suggested to do the opposite. Research by Stephen Haber and Victor Menaldo found that increases in natural resource reliance do not induce authoritarianism but may instead promote democratization. The authors say that their method rectifies

2542-602: The Dutch discovered a huge natural gas field in Groningen in 1959. The Netherlands sought to tap this resource in an attempt to export the gas for profit. However, when the gas began to flow out of the country, its ability to compete against other countries' exports declined. With the Netherlands focusing primarily on the new gas exports, the Dutch currency began to appreciate, which harmed the country's ability to export other products. With

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2624-654: The USA exhibit lower human rights performance than those exporting to China". The authors argue that this stems from the fact that US relationships with oil producers were formed decades ago, before human rights became part of its foreign policy agenda. One study found that resource wealth in authoritarian states lowers the probability of adopting freedom of information laws. However, democracies that are resource-rich are more likely than resource-poor democracies to adopt such laws. One study looking at oil wealth in Colombia found "that when

2706-509: The areas of wages, labor force participation, violence, and education. Research links gender inequality in the Middle East to resource wealth. According to Michael Ross: Oil production affects gender relations by reducing the presence of women in the labor force. The failure of women to join the nonagricultural labor force has profound social consequences: it leads to higher fertility rates, less education for girls, and less female influence within

2788-403: The authorities attempt diversification in the economy, this is made difficult because resource extraction is vastly more lucrative and out-competes other industries for the best human capital and capital investment. Successful natural-resource-exporting countries often become increasingly dependent on extractive industries over time, further increasing the levels of investment in this industry as it

2870-406: The autocratic nature of moderately authoritarian regimes. A third 2016 study finds that while it is accurate that resource richness has an adverse impact on the prospects of democracy, this relationship has held only since the 1970s. A 2017 study found that the presence of multinational oil companies increases the likelihood of state repression. Another 2017 study found that the presence of oil reduced

2952-412: The boom had not occurred." A 2019 study found that active mining activity had an adverse impact on the growth of firms in tradeable sectors but a positive impact on the growth of firms in non-tradeable sectors. Natural resources are a source of economic rent which can generate large revenues for those controlling them even in the absence of political stability and wider economic growth. Their existence

3034-503: The chance of conflict rises to 33%. "Ethno-political groups are more likely to resort to rebellion rather than using nonviolent means or becoming terrorists when representing regions rich in oil." There are several factors behind the relationship between natural resources and armed conflicts. Resource wealth may increase the vulnerability of countries to conflicts by undermining the quality of governance and economic performance (the "resource curse" argument). Secondly, conflicts can occur over

3116-626: The citizens complain, money from the natural resources enables governments to pay for armed forces to keep the citizens in check. It has been argued that rises and falls in the price of petroleum correlate with rises and falls in the implementation of human rights in major oil-producing countries. Corrupt members of national governments may collude with resource extraction companies to override their own laws and ignore objections made by indigenous inhabitants. The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee report entitled "Petroleum and Poverty Paradox" states that "too often, oil money that should go to

3198-540: The control and exploitation of resources and the allocation of their revenues (the " resource war " argument). Thirdly, access to resource revenues by belligerents can prolong conflicts (the " conflict resource " argument). A 2018 study in the Journal of Conflict Resolution found that rebels were particularly likely to be able to prolong their participation in civil wars when they had access to natural resources that they could smuggle. A 2004 literature review finds that oil makes

3280-405: The country's citizens aren't being taxed, they have less incentive to be watchful with how government spends its money. In addition, those benefiting from mineral resource wealth may perceive an effective and watchful civil service and civil society as a threat to the benefits that they enjoy, and they may take steps to thwart them. As a result, citizens are often poorly served by their rulers, and if

3362-405: The difficulties that befall lottery winners who struggle to manage the complex side-effects of newfound wealth. As of 2009, scholarship on the resource curse has increasingly shifted towards explaining why some resource-rich countries succeed and why others do not, as opposed to just investigating the average economic effects of resources. Research suggests that the manner in which resource income

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3444-524: The direction of an oil-peace. A 2016 study finds that "oil production, oil reserves, oil dependence, and oil exports are associated with a higher risk of initiating conflict while countries enjoying large oil reserves are more frequently the target of military actions." As of 2016, the only six countries whose reported military expenditures exceeded 6 percent of GDP were significant oil producers: Oman, South Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, Algeria (data for Syria and North Korea were unavailable). A 2017 study in

3526-550: The effect has persisted to this day. Today, the share of homicides and assaults explained by the historical circumstances of mineral discoveries is comparable to the effect of education or income." A 2018 study in the Economic Journal found that "oil price shocks are seen to promote coups in onshore-intensive oil countries, while preventing them in offshore-intensive oil countries." The study argues that states which have onshore oil wealth tend to build up their military to protect

3608-726: The eighth volume. Eustace Budgell , a cousin of Addison's, and the poet John Hughes also contributed to the publication. In Number 10, Mr. Spectator states that The Spectator will aim "to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality". The journal reached an audience of thousands of people every day, because "the Spectators was something that every middle-class household with aspirations to looking like its members took literature seriously would want to have." He hopes it will be said he has "brought philosophy out of closets and libraries, schools, and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and coffee–houses". Women were

3690-541: The evidence for whether this increased spending translates to better education outcomes is mixed. A study on Brazil found that oil revenues were associated with sizable increases in education spending, but only with small improvements in education provision. Similarly, an analysis of early-20th century oil booms in Texas and neighboring states found no effect of oil discoveries on student teacher ratios or school attendance. However, oil-rich regions participated more intensively in

3772-653: The existence of natural resources. If the resource prices fall, however, the governments' capacity to meet debt repayments will be reduced. For example, many oil-rich countries like Nigeria and Venezuela saw rapid expansions of their debt burdens during the 1970s oil boom; however, when oil prices fell in the 1980s, bankers stopped lending to them and many of them fell into arrears, triggering penalty interest charges that made their debts grow even more. As Venezuelan oil minister and OPEC co-founder Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo presciently warned in 1976: "Ten years from now, twenty years from now, you will see, oil will bring us ruin... It

3854-521: The fact that West Virginia ranked last on the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index in the years of 2009-2010 in the categories of "physical health", "emotional health", "life evaluation", and "overall well-being". Arguments against the "resource curse" often claim economic benefits from the resource. The Purdue and Pavela case study reflects an example of negative economic impacts of this type of reliance on resource extraction; as even when

3936-467: The family. It also has far-reaching political consequences: when fewer women work outside the home, they are less likely to exchange information and overcome collective action problems; less likely to mobilize politically, and to lobby for expanded rights; and less likely to gain representation in government. That leaves oil-producing states with atypically strong patriarchal cultures and political institutions. The Spectator (1711) The Spectator

4018-713: The field of comparative politics at both the cross-national and intra-national levels. Comparative Political Studies is abstracted and indexed in Scopus and the Social Sciences Citation Index . According to the Journal Citation Reports , the journal has a 2023 impact factor of 4.2. This article about a journal on politics or political science is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . See tips for writing articles about academic journals . Further suggestions might be found on

4100-505: The future. The former also pay bribes for permits more frequently, and perceive their local councilors to be more corrupt. In a study examining the effects of mining on local communities in Africa, researchers concluded that active mining areas are associated with more bribe payments, particularly police bribes. Their findings were consistent with the hypothesis that mining increases corruption. The Center for Global Development argues that governance in resource-rich states would be improved by

4182-402: The government making universal, transparent, and regular payments of oil revenues to citizens and then attempting to reclaim it through the tax system, which they argue will fuel public demand for the government to be transparent and accountable in its management of natural resource revenues and in the delivery of public services. One study found that "oil producing states dependent on exports to

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4264-615: The growing gas market and the shrinking export economy, the Netherlands began to experience a recession . This process has been witnessed in multiple countries around the world including but not limited to Venezuela ( oil ), Angola ( diamonds , oil ), the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( diamonds ), and various other nations. All of these countries are considered "resource-cursed". Dutch disease makes tradable goods less competitive in world markets. Absent currency manipulation or

4346-420: The impact of oil correlated with regime leaders as well as being between two and three times larger than the marginal effect of increases during the leader's term. A 2021 meta-analysis of 46 natural experiments found that price increases in oil and lootable minerals increased the likelihood of conflict. A 2011 study in the journal Comparative Political Studies found that "natural resource wealth can be either

4428-686: The inability of allied great powers to punish the petrostate. The great powers have strong incentives not to upset the relationship with its client petrostate ally for both strategic and economic reasons. A 2017 study found evidence of the resource curse in the American frontier period of the Western United States in the 19th century (the Wild West ). The study found, "In places where mineral discoveries occurred before formal institutions were established, there were more homicides per capita historically and

4510-476: The island. After reaching the English colony, Inkle sells Yarico to a merchant, even after she tells him that she is pregnant. Arietta closes the tale stating that Inkle simply uses Yarico's declaration to argue for a higher price when selling her. Mr. Spectator is so moved by the story that he takes his leave. Steele's text was so well known and influential that seven decades after his publication, George Colman modified

4592-438: The late 18th and 19th centuries. It was sold in eight-volume editions. Its prose style, and its marriage of morality and advice with entertainment, were considered exemplary. The decline in its popularity has been discussed by Brian McCrea and C. S. Lewis . In The Spectator, No.11 , Steele created a frame narrative that would come to be a very well known story in the eighteenth century, the story of Inkle and Yarico . Although

4674-480: The likelihood that a democracy would be established after the breakdown of an authoritarian regime. A 2018 study found that the relationship between oil and authoritarianism primarily holds after the end of the Cold War . The study argues that without American or Soviet support, resource-poor authoritarian regimes had to democratize, but resource-rich authoritarian regimes resisted domestic pressures to democratize. Prior to

4756-405: The methodological biases of earlier studies which revolve around random effects : "Numerous sources of bias may be driving the results [of earlier studies on the resource curse], the most serious of which is omitted variable bias induced by unobserved country-specific and time-invariant heterogeneity." In other words, this means that countries might have specific, enduring traits that get left out of

4838-548: The model, which could increase the explanation power of the argument. The authors claim that the chances of this happening are larger when assuming random effects, an assumption that does not allow for what the authors call "unobserved country-specific heterogeneity". The criticisms have themselves been subject to criticism. One study reexamined the Haber-Menaldo analysis by using Haber and Menaldo's own data and statistical models. It reported that their conclusions were only valid for

4920-576: The oil, whereas states do not do that for offshore oil wealth. A 2020 study determined that low levels of oil and gas revenue actually increases the likelihood of nonviolent resistance in autocratic countries, despite the general logic of the resource curse. Research shows that oil wealth lowers levels of democracy and strengthens autocratic rule because political leaders in oil-rich countries refuse democratic development because they will have more to give up from losing power. Similarly, political leaders of oil-rich countries refuse democratic development because

5002-429: The onset of war more likely and that lootable resources lengthen existing conflicts. One study finds the mere discovery (as opposed to just the exploitation) of petroleum resources increases the risk of conflict, as oil revenues have the potential to alter the balance of power between regimes and their opponents, rendering bargains in the present obsolete in the future. One study suggests that the rise in mineral prices over

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5084-464: The period 1997–2010 contributed to up to 21 percent of the average country-level violence in Africa. Research shows that declining oil prices make oil-rich states less bellicose. Jeff Colgan observed that oil-rich states have a propensity to instigate international conflicts as well as to be the targets of them, which he referred to as " petro-aggression ". Arguable examples include Iraq's invasions of Iran and Kuwait; Libya's repeated incursions into Chad in

5166-465: The period before the 1970s, but since about 1980, there has been a pronounced resource curse. Authors Andersen and Ross suggest that oil wealth became a hindrance to democratic transitions only after the transformative events of the 1970s, which enabled the governments of developing countries to capture the oil rents that were previously siphoned off by foreign-owned firms. There are two ways that oil wealth might negatively affect democratization. The first

5248-498: The periodical essay was published on 13 March 1711, the story is based on Richard Ligon's publication in 1647. Ligon's publication, A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes , reports on how the cruelties of the transatlantic slave trade contribute to slave-produced goods such as tobacco and sugarcane. Mr. Spectator goes to speak with an older woman, Arietta, whom many people visit to discuss various topics. When Mr. Spectator enters

5330-562: The political elite collects the revenues from the oil export and use the money for cementing its political, economic, and social power by controlling government and its bureaucracy, Military spending generally increases with oil wealth and so a military coup, one of the strongest tools in toppling autocracies, is less likely in oil-rich countries since dictators can quell resistance through additional funding. According to Michael Ross, "only one type of resource has been consistently correlated with less democracy and worse institutions: petroleum, which

5412-401: The prerequisites for successful future development were given up. Thus, Spain soon lost its economic strength in comparison to other Western countries. A study of US oil booms found positive effects on local employment and income during booms but found that after the boom, incomes "per capita" decreased, while "unemployment compensation payments increased relative to what they would have been if

5494-466: The price of surface level coal goes up on the market, the poverty levels of people within those communities rises alongside it. Adverse effects of natural resources on human capital formation might come through several channels. High wages in the resource extraction industry could induce young workers to drop out of school earlier in order to find employment. Evidence for this has been found for coal and fracking booms. In addition, resource booms can lower

5576-558: The resource curse is the crowding out of human capital ; countries that rely on natural resource exports may tend to neglect education because they see no immediate need for it. Resource-poor economies like Singapore , Taiwan or South Korea , by contrast, spent enormous efforts on education, and this contributed in part to their economic success (see East Asian Tigers ). Other researchers, however, dispute this conclusion; they argue that natural resources generate easily taxable rents that can result in increased spending on education. However,

5658-565: The resource curse. Early Mafia activity is strongly linked to Sicilian municipalities abundant in sulphur, Sicily's most valuable export commodity. A 2017 study in the Journal of Economic History also links the emergence of the Sicilian Mafia to surging demand for oranges and lemons following the late 18th-century discovery that citrus fruits cured scurvy . A 2016 study argues that petrostates may be emboldened to act more aggressively because of

5740-450: The rest of the economy." Michael Ross describes how there are limited economic linkages with other industries in the economy. Consequently, economic diversification may be delayed or neglected by the authorities in light of the high profits that can be obtained from limited natural resources. The attempts at diversification that do occur are often white elephant public works projects which may be misguided or mismanaged. However, even when

5822-527: The room, there is already another man present speaking with Arietta. They are discussing "constancy in love," and the man uses the tale of The Ephesian Matron to support his point. Arietta is insulted and angered by the man's hypocrisy and sexism. She counters his tale with one of her own, the story of Inkle and Yarico . Thomas Inkle, a twenty-year-old man from London, sailed to the West Indies to increase his wealth through trade. While on an island, he encounters

5904-463: The rule of law and popular support. Responsible use of financial hedges can mitigate that risk to some extent. Susceptibility to that volatility can be increased when governments choose to borrow heavily in foreign currency. Real exchange rate increases, through capital inflows or the "Dutch disease" can make it appear an attractive option by lowering the cost of interest payments on the foreign debt, and they may be considered more creditworthy because of

5986-491: The ruler's optimal strategy for political survival is to use that revenue to buy the loyalty of critical support groups and oppress the rest of the population by denying them civil liberties and underfunding education and infrastructure. Education, liberty, and infrastructure can make the people more productive, but they also make it easier for them to organize opposition movements. Since the ruler can obtain sufficient revenue from his country's natural resources, he has no need for

6068-562: The rulers permitted democratization out of necessity. The International Monetary Fund classifies 51 countries as "resource-rich," which are defined as countries that derive at least 20% of exports or 20% of fiscal revenue from nonrenewable natural resources; 29 of those countries are low- and lower-middle-income. Common characteristics of the 29 countries include (i) extreme dependence on resource wealth for fiscal revenues, export sales, or both; (ii) low saving rates; (iii) poor growth performance; and (iv) highly volatile resource revenues. There

6150-481: The short story into a comic opera , Inkle and Yarico . Comparative Political Studies Comparative Political Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal . It was established in 1968 by SAGE Publications , who continue to publish it today. The editors are David J. Samuels , University of Minnesota, Benjamin W. Ansell , University of Oxford, and Dawn Teele, Johns Hopkins University. The journal publishes methodological, theoretical, and research articles in

6232-485: The socioeconomic effects are still murky. Researchers Robert Purdue and Gregory Pavela did research on the West Virginia coal mining economy to further investigate these concerns. Their research includes data from all of West Virginia's 55 counties over a 13-year period of (1997-2009). In this research, significant ecological costs can be noted in the area which, in turn, effect the people negatively. The research also poses

6314-503: The subscribing coffeehouses. These readers came from many stations in society, but the paper catered principally to the interests of England's emerging middle class—merchants and traders large and small. The Spectator also had many readers in the American colonies. In particular, James Madison read the paper avidly as a teenager. It is said to have had a big influence on his world view, lasting throughout his long life. Benjamin Franklin

6396-423: The thesis that resource richness adversely affects long-term economic growth. The authors noted that "approximately 40% of empirical papers finding a negative effect, 40% finding no effect, and 20% finding a positive effect" but "overall support for the resource curse hypothesis is weak when potential publication bias and method heterogeneity are taken into account." A 2018 study showed that most specifications,

6478-521: The wages of teachers relative to other workers, increasing turnover and impairing students' learning. A study on coal mining in Appalachia suggests that "the presence of coal in the Appalachian region has played a significant part in its slow pace of economic development. Our best estimates indicate that an increase of 0.5 units in the ratio of coal revenues to personal income in a county is associated with

6560-484: Was a daily publication founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England, lasting from 1711 to 1712. Each "paper", or "number", was approximately 2,500 words long, and the original run consisted of 555 numbers, beginning on 1 March 1711. These were collected into seven volumes. The paper was revived without the involvement of Steele in 1714, appearing thrice weekly for six months, and these papers when collected formed

6642-462: Was also a reader, and the Spectator influenced his style in his "Silence Dogood" letters. Jürgen Habermas sees The Spectator as instrumental in the formation of the public sphere in 18th century England. Although The Spectator declares itself to be politically neutral, it was widely recognised as promoting Whig values and interests. The Spectator continued to be popular and widely read in

6724-448: Was coined by William Freudenburg to describe how resource extraction driven economies can lead to short term economic benefits and sometimes short-sightedness by policymakers. Freudenberg also did research in an effort to understand more of the human capital implications of these types of economies and why results vary so widely across regions and industries. Although there is plentiful research of these types of economies, an understanding of

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