Paradox of Plenty or Oil Blessing? Counterfactual Evidence from Africa

• In Event: Development, Statebuilding, and Instability in Sub-Saharan Africa

Brief Overview

We use the synthetic control method to ask: would African oil states enjoy better development outcomes if they had never found oil? Our results show that they would fare no better in development outcomes had they never found oil.

Authors

• Benjamin Smith, University of Florida

• Muharrem Bagriyanik, University of Florida

• Adam Newman Bernstein, University of Florida