Abstract:
Natural Resource Dependence has been identified as a factor contributing to the paradoxical
‘’natural resource curse’’ hypothesis. This study attempts to identify the effect of Natural Resource
dependence in SAARC, ASEAN and OPEC groups; in other words, is it a curse or a blessing for each
region particularly in terms of the impact of Natural Resource dependence on human capital
accumulation in each group. A political economy model is employed to carry out the analysis. The
empirical results reveal that natural resource dependence is in fact a blessing for the SAARC
region, a curse for the OPEC region and it could be a blessing or a curse for the ASEAN region
depending on the measure of natural resources used. The results also exhibit that when a panel
data technique is employed the role of institutional quality in determining the relationship
between natural resources and human capital blurs.
