Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

No Taxation, No Representation: An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Natural Resources And Fiscal Decentralization, Andrew Balthrop, Mohammad Arzaghi

Andrew Balthrop

Effects Of Natural Resource Abundance On Institutions: Which, Where And When?, Luisa Blanco, Jeffrey Nugent, Graham Veenstra

Luisa Blanco

Much research has gone into the effects of oil and other natural resources on growth in which political institutions are often seen as the link between the two. Since institutions are difficult to measure and change very slowly over time, the analysis has largely been confined to cross-country comparisons, most frequently investigating the effects on levels of democracy. This paper builds on recent analyses of the effects of oil endowments, prices and exports on democracy to examine the effects on several different types of institutional change, making use of panel data on over 100 countries between 1975 and 2005 wherever …

Report On Scoping The Feasibility Of Constructing An Economic Impact Model For Recreational And Conservation Projects In The State Of Michigan, George A. Erickcek

George A. Erickcek

No abstract provided.

Varieties Of Resource Nationalism In Sub-Saharan Africa's Energy And Minerals Markets, Stefan Andreasson

Stefan Andreasson

This article examines resource nationalism in sub-Saharan Africa’s energy and minerals markets. It does so by exploring economic and political developments in three cases: Nigeria as an example of a petro-state established by means of expropriation in the wake of decolonisation; South Africa, a mature mining industry shaped by its settler colonial history; and Mozambique, a new and therefore highly-dependent entrant into the league of significant natural gas producers. Extractive industries have played a controversial role in sub-Saharan Africa due in particular to the prevalence of the resource curse. Nevertheless, energy exports will continue to play an important role in …

A Holistic Approach To The Management Of Human Consumption Towards An Economics Of Well-Being, Gandolfo Dominici, Vasja Roblek

Vasja Roblek

The goal of this conceptual paper is to draw attention to the problems caused by the rapid growth of the global economy, coupled with high population growth and excessive exploitation of natural resources. It is necessary to be aware that the global economy will not be able to grow at the actual speed in the long term. A paradigm shift in production and consumption is therefore necessary to avoid the collapse of ecosystems and the concurrent reduction of stocks of natural resources. This is the reason why capitalism has to take a new direction towards a sustainable and naturally harmonized …

(Wp 2011-09) The Development Effects Of Natural Resources: A Geographical Dimension, Fabrizio Carmignani, Abdur Chowdhury

Abdur R. Chowdhury

Despite the recent growth resurgence, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains the poorest region in the world. At the same time, it is a region that heavily relies on natural resources. In this paper we investigate the extent to which the second fact helps explain the first one. The distinctive feature of our study is that we take a geographical perspective and allow the effect of natural resources to differ across regions of the world. Our findings suggest that (i) the effect of natural resource intensity on per-capita income is positive and significant in general, but almost negligible and possibly negative in …

Affective Economies: Indigenous Conflict Over Natural Resources In Contemporary India, Jesse Benjamin

Jesse Benjamin

No abstract provided.

Natural Resources And Reforms, Mohammad Amin, Simeon Djankov

Mohammad Amin

We use a sample of 133 countries to investigate the link between the abundance of natural resources and micro-economic reforms. Previous studies suggest that natural resource abundance gives rise to governments that are less accountable to the public, states that are oligarchic, and that it leads to the erosion of social capital. These factors are likely to hamper economic reforms. We test this hypothesis using data on micro-economic reforms from the World Bank’s Doing Business database. The results provide a robust support for the “resource curse” view: a move from the 75th percentile to the 25th percentile on resource abundance …

The Place Of Human Rights Law In World Trade Organization Rules, Stephen Joseph Powell

Stephen Joseph Powell

WTO rules routinely are linked to the inability of nations to make meaningful progress in sharpening environmental and other human rights protections, for example, the failure of the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development to usher in any new treaties despite the bright promise of the Rio Earth Summit of the previous decade. The common brief of environmental, medical, and development interest groups is that the market principles of supply and demand, comparative advantage, and non-discrimination on which global trade rules are built have encumbered pursuit by nations of fundamental non-economic objectives that must in any reasoned legal hierarchy …

Regulating Illicit Trade In Natural Resources: The Role Of Regional Actors In West Africa, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This article explores the multiple efforts that have been initiated by regional actors in West Africa, mainly ECOWAS, to regulate the illicit trade in natural resources in the context of armed conflicts. It then examines the behaviour of 'spoilers' who are able to circumvent the sanctions regime and governments' domestic regulation. The paper argues that the characteristics and multiple dynamics of the armed conflicts in West Africa have created specific opportunities for economic activities in a thriving parallel economy through the 'illicit' trade in natural resources.

Rising Temperatures: Rising Tides, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Transboundary environmental problems do not distinguish between political boundaries. Global warming is expected to cause thermal expansion of water and melt glaciers. Both are predicted to lead to a rise in sea level. We must enlarge our paradigms to encompass a global reality and reliance upon global participation.