How Natural Resources Breed Violence

Aug 27, 2015 | Economist
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Africa is home to a tenth of the planet’s oil, a third of its mineral reserves and produces two-thirds of its diamonds. High prices may pep up the continent’s short-term economic growth, but scholars have long suspected that its plentiful natural resources also breed instability and violence. Politicians and their cronies cannot resist skimming off some of the huge profits, the theory goes, which enrages those who are left out. Struggles over these wealths have played a part in many African troubles, from militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Sudanese civil wars. However, identifying a systematic link between natural resources and violence in Africa has proven tricky for economists, who must usually work with small or insufficiently detailed datasets.