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This is not a good take. Look at Iraq or Venezuela. No lack of energy, but plenty of poverty nonetheless.
by geysersam 4y ago
This is not a good take. Look at Iraq or Venezuela. No lack of energy, but plenty of poverty nonetheless.
- klabb3 4y agoThe energy must be spent within the region to count. Those countries export it.
- geysersam 4y agoWhy do they export it then? Because abundance of energy is not the only kind of poverty there is.
- klabb3 4y agoBecause of corruption and foreign interference, same as with any other form of asset. I don't see any conflict with the thesis of the article.
- missedthecue 4y agoIn Venezuela's case it's because they don't have refineries that can process their heavy crude. What else would they possibly do other than export it?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- jibe 4y agoYou raise an interesting point - Venezuela has an abundance of oil, but also blackouts and a general shortages at the same time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Venezuelan_blackouts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Venezuelan_blackouts So you need energy but also stability. And minimizing corruption helps as well. Air dropping barrels of oil, or solar panels without regard for social, civil, and technical infrastructure isn't that helpful. But there are a lot of areas that are primed and would benefit from just adding energy.
- superkuh 4y agoIf a country in a temperate climate has valuble natural resources to drive it's economy and doesn't depend on mass skilled labor then governments that don't care about citizens are more easily established and last longer. The number of interest groups that any leader has to keep satisfied to stay in power is much smaller.
- avgcorrection 4y agoIraq is the perfect example of being resource-cursed. So, yes.
- theptip 4y agoEnergy is a necessary but not sufficient condition for wealth.
- gautamcgoel 4y agoInteresting point. I guess the issue with these countries is that their energy reserves are simply used to enrich the state and a small elite, instead of being shared widely with their citizens.