Resources, agriculture, and economic growth in economies in transition

This paper reviews some reasons why natural resource abundance and extensiv e agriculture appear to impede economic growth around the world. The paper presents empirical, cross-sectional evidence of various aspects of this rel ationship in the transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe and Cen tral Asia since 1990. The essence of the argument is that heavy dependence on natural resources and agriculture may result in rent seeking (e. g., cor ruption) and policy failures (e. g., inflation) and may, moreover, discoura ge education, external trade, and genuine saving, thereby retarding economi c growth. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the policy implica tions of the analysis.