Current EOPP Research:
The Rise of China and the Natural Resource Curse in Africa
Gerard Padro i-Miquel (with Erik Meyersson, Stockholm University and Nancy Qian, Brown University)
Abstract:
This paper studies the causal impact of China’s rising demand for natural resources
(NR) on Sub-Saharan African political and economic development. We separately instrument
for NR exports to China, to the World, to the U.S. and India with the interaction
terms of a African country’s NR endowment and the demand for those resources for
the respective buyers. We find that exporting NR to China is unique in having large
positive effects on economic growth and investment, but is not alone in it’s detrimental
effects on human rights. Exporting to the U.S. also has similar negative effects on
human rights outcomes, whereas exporting to India improves human rights. Exporting
NR overall has no effect on economic growth but has potentially negative effects on political
institutions. Our results suggest that the commonly cited natural resource curse
embodies heterogenous effects of exporting NR. We provide strong novel evidence that
the characteristics of the trading partner matter.
Related Paper
The Rise of China and the Natural Resource Curse in Africa
