Lessons of the Spanish Empire, or the Curse of Resource Abundance

Abstract

The role of natural resources in contributing to stable economic development is of growing interest to economists and politicians. In evaluations of the prospects for development of a given country it was once assumed that rich natural resources and a vast territory provided favorable conditions for successful socio-economic development. However, in recent decades this assumption has been qualified: it is now realized that these conditions create only the potential for growth, whereas actual economic development can turn out to be unimpressive