The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations

Translated from English by Yu. Kapturovsky; edited by T. Drobyshevskaya. – Moscow: Gaidar Institute Press, 2015. – 464 p. 

ISBN 978-5-93255-428-9 

Oil-rich countries often have less economic stability, and civil wars occur there more often than in countries without oil. What explains this “oil curse”? And can it be cured? In his pioneering book, UCLA political science professor Michael Ross examines the impact of hydrocarbon reserves on developing countries. He links the emergence of the “oil curse” to events of the 1970s, when oil prices skyrocketed and governments in developing countries established control over their oil industries. This book shows why oil wealth typically leads to lower economic growth than might be expected, why it creates jobs for men but not for women, and why it creates more problems in poor countries than in rich ones.