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Topic · General Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Natural Resources and Economic Development

Natural Resources and Economic Development is a research topic within General Economics, Econometrics and Finance. Science Explorer counts 13k research works in it since 1950. 10.4% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the phenomenon of resource curse, focusing on the impact of natural resource abundance, particularly oil, on political institutions, economic development, corruption, and democracy. It delves into the intricate relationship between resource wealth, governance, and societal well-being, offering insights into the challenges and complexities associated with managing and harnessing natural resources for sustainable development.

  • Natural Resources
  • Resource Curse
  • Political Economy
  • Oil Wealth
  • Corruption
  • Democracy
  • Institutions
  • Economic Development
  • Rent Seeking
  • Transparency
Research works
13k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
1.4k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.4%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+26%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
Nigeria
24% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Natural Resources and Economic Development

Which countries lead Natural Resources and Economic Development research?

By volume, Nigeria and the United States publish the most (500 and 380 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Nigeria 500 works
  2. 2 United States 380 works
  3. 3 China 313 works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 217 works
  5. 5 Indonesia 137 works
  6. 6 Germany 128 works
  7. 7 Türkiye 112 works
  8. 8 India 92 works
  9. 9 Russia 90 works
  10. 10 Iraq 87 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

Nigeria: 24.3%United States: 18.5%China: 15.2%United Kingdom: 10.6%6 others listed: 31.4%24%largest
Nigeria500 · 24.3%United States380 · 18.5%China313 · 15.2%United Kingdom217 · 10.6%6 others listed646 · 31.4%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Natural Resources and Economic Development research?

By volume in 2022-now, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy publishes the most Natural Resources and Economic Development research, followed by University of Port Harcourt and Rivers State University.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Institute for Peace Research and Security PolicyGermany 71 works
  2. 2 University of Port HarcourtNigeria 40 works
  3. 3 Rivers State UniversityNigeria 30 works
  4. 4 University of NigeriaNigeria 21 works
  5. 5 Russian Academy of SciencesRussia 21 works
  6. 6 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 20 works
  7. 7 Delta State UniversityNigeria 19 works
  8. 8 University of GhanaGhana 18 works
  9. 9 Université de DschangCameroon 16 works
  10. 10 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 15 works

Who are the leading researchers in Natural Resources and Economic Development?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Natural Resources and Economic Development include Carl Folke, Joseph E. Stiglitz and Daron Acemoğlu.

  1. 1 Carl Folke Sweden 182k citations
  2. 2 Joseph E. Stiglitz United States 167k citations
  3. 3 Daron Acemoğlu United States 164k citations
  4. 4 M. Hashem Pesaran United States 150k citations
  5. 5 David J. Teece United States 130k citations
  6. 6 Detlef Peter van Vuuren Netherlands 126k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Natural Resources and Economic Development?

The most cited paper in Natural Resources and Economic Development is "INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE: CROSS‐COUNTRY TESTS USING ALTERNATIVE INSTITUTIONAL MEASURES" (Stephen Knack, Philip Keefer, 1995), with 5,188 citations. Next come "The curse of natural resources" (4,145) and "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development" (3,845).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE: CROSS‐COUNTRY TESTS USING ALTERNATIVE INSTITUTIONAL MEASURES Stephen Knack, Philip Keefer · Economics and Politics Nov 1995 5,188
2 The curse of natural resources Jeffrey David Sachs, Andrew M. Warner · European Economic Review May 2001 4,145
3 Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development Mancur Olson · American Political Science Review Sep 1993 3,845
4 Does Oil Hinder Democracy? Michael L. Ross · World Politics Apr 2001 3,423
5 The Theory of Economic Development Simone Raudino Book chapter 2016 2,987
All 98 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Natural Resources and Economic Development research done?

The largest centres of Natural Resources and Economic Development research in 2022-now are Hamburg (Germany), Port Harcourt (Nigeria), Beijing (China) and London (United Kingdom). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Port Harcourt and Uyo.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 HamburgGermany 73 works
  2. 2 Port HarcourtNigeria 70 works
  3. 3 BeijingChina 57 works
  4. 4 LondonUnited Kingdom 54 works
  5. 5 MoscowRussia 54 works
  6. 6 Washington D.C.United States 53 works
  7. 7 AccraGhana 37 works
  8. 8 BakuAzerbaijan 30 works
  9. 9 LagosNigeria 29 works
  10. 10 TehranIran 27 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Port HarcourtNG · 69.5 works48×
  2. UyoNG · 25.7 works41×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Natural Resources and Economic Development than the world average.

See Natural Resources and Economic Development on the map

Where is the best place to study Natural Resources and Economic Development?

Among universities, judged by research, Université de Dschang, Imam Mohammad ibn Saud Islamic University and Université de Yaoundé I score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 14.35%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Imam Mohammad ibn Sa…Université de DschangUniversité de Yaound…University of Johann…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Université de DschangCameroon 66.523.8%50.6×16 +174.5%
2Imam Mohammad ibn Saud Islamic UniversitySaudi Arabia 65.530.3%14.1×8 -
3Université de Yaoundé ICameroon 54.214.7%24.7×12 +240.9%
4University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 54.113.3%7.6×15 +145.7%
5University of GhanaGhana 53.34.4%22.5×18 +85.8%
6University of South AfricaSouth Africa 51.323.7%7.8×11 +127.1%
7Azerbaijan State University of EconomicsAzerbaijan 49.210.9%76.4×14 +133.4%
8University of Port HarcourtNigeria 47.92.5%73.3×40 -6.4%
9University of NigeriaNigeria 47.97.5%26.2×21 +3.4%
10University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 47.212.4%2.8×13 +69.5%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Natural Resources and Economic Development, country by country

Is Natural Resources and Economic Development research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 26% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Natural Resources and Economic Development.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Natural Resources and Economic Development as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.016% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%Natural Resources and Economic Development0.016% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Natural Resources and Economic Development over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Natural Resources and Economic Development11.1% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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