Natural Resources and Violent Conflict: Resource Abundance, Dependence and the Onset of Civil Wars
Publisher: ETH Working Paper 08/78
Author(s): Christa N. Brunnschweiler and Erwin H. Bulte
Date: 2008
Topics: Conflict Causes, Extractive Resources, Land, Renewable Resources
In this paper we examine the claim that natural resources invite civil conflict, and challenge the main stylized facts in this literature. We find that the nature of causation between resource dependence and civil war is opposite to conventional wisdom. In particular, (i) civil war creates dependence on primary sector exports, but the reverse is not true, and (ii) resource abundance is associated with a reduced probability of the onset of war. These results are robust to a range of specifications and, considering the conflict channel, we conclude there is no reason to regard resources as a general curse to development.