The resources curse really is about staying bad, not turning bad. We must realize that all countries 300-400 years ago were 'bad' by out perspective. Countries

The resources curse really is about staying bad, not turning bad. We must realize that all countries 300-400 years ago were 'bad' by out perspective. Countries with a dominant resources that only found them when they were already developed don't suffer from the 'resource curse'. In such cases not having resources doesn't mean you turn into Switzerland or Canada rather it means that it will be harder for one dominant dictator to hold on to power. In some African countries that are now proto-democracies, dictators simply couldn't hold on to power without easily available resource base. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita work in 'The Logic of Political Survival' and ' The Dictator's Handbook' is quite interesting.