Natural resources and economic growth: A curse or a blessing?

The debate on the «curse of natural resources» is a topical issue in empirical research on economic development. This paper examines the relationship between natural resources and growth rates in a cross-section of countries, by separately analyzing abundance of resources and dependence on these. Results show how dependence on exports of metals and ores is negatively associated with growth; an abundance of resources, measured both in terms of production of diamonds and oil and in terms of subsoil assets, does not appear to influence economic growth negatively. Results are consistent with some literature, according to which the effect of resources rents on economic growth strictly depends on national institutional characteristics.