For some reason the countries which have been blessed with the most natural resources also seem to have the most problems. Why is this? Joseph E. Stiglitz reported the general consensus:

• Countries with access to a lot of natural resources generally have strong currencies, hurting other exports. This makes it difficult for other industries to emerge and for the economy to grow.
• Extracting resources doesn’t create many jobs, and since there are few other industries in resource-rich countries, there is a high level of unemployment.
• The prices of resources are volatile. This creates instability which hinders economic development.
• Politicians bicker over who has access to the resources. They may even become corrupt.

To read more including a few other reasons why resource-rich countries have so many problems, what this means for countries that have recently discovered new reserves of natural resources, and how to solve the problem click here.

Source: Slate