Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/171521 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
Economics Working Paper Series No. 08/78
Publisher: 
ETH Zurich, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research, Zurich
Abstract: 
In this paper we examine the claim that natural resources invite civil conflict, and challenge the main stylized facts in this literature. We find that the nature of causation between resource dependence and civil war is opposite to conventional wisdom. In particular, (i) civil war creates dependence on primary sector exports, but the reverse is not true, and (ii) resource abundance is associated with a reduced probability of the onset of war. These results are robust to a range of specifications and, considering the conflict channel, we conclude there is no reason to regard resources as a general curse to development.
Subjects: 
Civil war
resource abundance
resource dependence
greed versus grievance
resource curse
JEL: 
Q34
O11
N40
N50
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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