Oil Is Not a Curse: Ownership Structure and Institutions in Soviet Successor States (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) - Softcover

Luong, Pauline Jones

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521148081 ISBN 13: 9780521148085

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011

Synopsis

This book makes two central claims: first, that mineral-rich states are cursed not by their wealth but, rather, by the ownership structure they choose to manage their mineral wealth and second, that weak institutions are not inevitable in mineral-rich states. Each represents a significant departure from the conventional resource curse literature, which has treated ownership structure as a constant across time and space and has presumed that mineral-rich countries are incapable of either building or sustaining strong institutions - particularly fiscal regimes. The experience of the five petroleum-rich Soviet successor states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) provides a clear challenge to both of these assumptions. Their respective developmental trajectories since independence demonstrate not only that ownership structure can vary even across countries that share the same institutional legacy but also that this variation helps to explain the divergence in their subsequent fiscal regimes.

About this title

Review:

'The author's concluding chapter makes a reasonably, if not overwhelmingly persuasive case about why the resource curse hypothesis is a myth.' Gaurav Sharma, oilholicssynonymous.com

Book Description:

Petroleum-rich countries in the developing world are thought to be cursed: destined, because of their wealth, to suffer from poor economic performance, unbalanced growth, weak states, and authoritarian regimes. This book argues that these outcomes are linked to the ownership structure that petroleum-rich states choose to manage their wealth.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0521148081
• ISBN 13: 9780521148085
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448