Natural resources, rent seeking and welfare

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Torvik, R
• 署名单位: Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3878(01)00195-X
• 发表日期: 2002
• 页码: 455-470
• 关键词: rent seeking; natural resources; Demand externalities

摘要

A new and very simple mechanism to explain why natural resource abundance may lower income and welfare is developed. In a model with rent seeking, a greater amount of natural resources increases the number of entrepreneurs engaged in rent seeking and reduces the number of entrepreneurs running productive firms. With a demand externality, it is shown that the drop in income as a result of this is higher than the increase in income from the natural resource. More natural resources thus lead to lower welfare. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V All rights reserved.