Resources, Agriculture, and Economic Growth in Economies in Transition

CERGE-EI Working Paper Series No. 157

36 Pages Posted: 14 Jan 2010

See all articles by Thorvaldur Gylfason

Thorvaldur Gylfason

University of Iceland - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 1, 2000

Abstract

This paper reviews some reasons why natural resource abundance and extensive agriculture appear to impede economic growth around the world. The paper presents empirical, cross-sectional evidence of various aspects of this relationship in the transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia since 1990. The essence of the argument is that heavy dependence on natural resources and agriculture may result in rent seeking (e.g., corruption) and policy failures (e.g., inflation) and may, moreover, discourage education, external trade, and genuine saving, thereby retarding economic growth. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the policy implications of the analysis.

JEL Classification: O13, P24, Q32.

Suggested Citation

Gylfason, Thorvaldur, Resources, Agriculture, and Economic Growth in Economies in Transition (July 1, 2000). CERGE-EI Working Paper Series No. 157, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1535743 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1535743

Thorvaldur Gylfason (Contact Author)

University of Iceland - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration ( email )

IS-101 Reykjavik
Iceland
+354 525 4533/00 (Phone)
+354 552 6806 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.hi.is/~gylfason/inenglish.htm)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

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