🌍 Compare Countries

🇻🇪
Venezuela
Resource Cursed
🇳🇴
Norway
Escaped Curse
🇳🇬
Nigeria
Resource Cursed
🇧🇼
Botswana
Escaped Curse

📊 Economy Simulation: Venezuela

Year 0
Discovery
Year 10
Boom
Year 20
Dependence
Year 30
Crisis
🛢️ Oil/Resources
10%
🏭 Manufacturing
35%
🌾 Agriculture
30%
🏢 Services
25%
+3.5%
GDP Growth
32
Corruption Index
High
Diversification

⚙️ Curse Mechanisms

  • 💱 Currency Appreciation Oil exports strengthen currency, making other exports uncompetitive
  • 🏭 Deindustrialization Manufacturing collapses as resource sector sucks up labor and capital
  • 💰 Rent-Seeking Fighting over resource wealth beats creating new value
  • 📉 Volatility Commodity price swings cause boom-bust cycles

📊 Real Data

Oil Rich No Oil
Venezuela -25% GDP -
Nigeria Same as 1980 -
Norway +150% GDP -
Rwanda - +300% GDP

✅ How to Escape

  • Sovereign wealth funds (Norway's $1.4T fund)
  • Diversification policies (UAE, Botswana)
  • Strong institutions before discovery
  • Transparent revenue management
  • Sterilization of inflows
Source: Auty, R. (1993). "Sustaining Development in Mineral Economies: The Resource Curse Thesis." Dutch Disease named after Netherlands gas boom (1959).