Is there a resource curse? The view that natural resources are bad for democracy has become an article of faith among academics, policymakers and journalists. A recent issue of The Economist blames the democratic deficit in the Middle East at least in part on the region’s oil riches.

Recently, however, Foreign Policy Magazine took issue with the consensus, drawing on my paper with Steve Haber. And rightly so. As I have written here before, several puzzles challenge the view that resource are bad for democracy and foster corruption. I’ve prepared a set of slides that both cast doubt on the resource curse and provide an alternative explanation for the patterns usually associated with this view.