Natural resource course theory: Angola and Botswana

The Natural Resource Curse theory states that resource-rich countries experience slower rates of growth and development when compared to resource-poor countries. Developing world countries with large endowments of natural resources very often do not attain sustainable growth because their leaders use the revenues from resource wealth to strengthen their individual interests to the detriment of the countries' development. Countries that faced this phenomenon are characterized by civil war, corruption, semi-democratic or authoritarian regimes and the failure to use the revenues from the natural resource sector in order to raise the living standard of their populations. Although this is a common pattern among resource rich nations its occurrence is not ubiquitous. This research studies two resource-rich African countries, Angola and Botswana. Although they are resource abundant, they have had different experiences in terms of political and economic development. The paper goes beyond the existing explanations of the natural resource curse theory to argue that the "curse" and "blessing" faced by Angola and Botswana, respectively, are contingent upon other historical factors such as colonialism and the inheritance of colonial institutional values which have influenced the resource management policies of these countries in the post-independence era. After evaluating the reasons for such divergent outcomes, the paper provides seven different policy recommendations to counter the curse.