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This paper attempts to provide a probable answer to a longstanding resource curse puzzle;i.e., why resource-rich nations grow at a slower rate compared to less fortunate ones. Using an innovative threshold estimation technique, the empirical results reveal that there is a threshold effect in the natural resources -economic growth relationship. We find that the impact of natural resources is meaningful to economic growth only after a certain threshold point of institutional quality has been attained. The results also shed light on the fact that the nations that have low institutional quality depend heavily on natural resources while countries with high quality institutions are relatively less dependent on natural resources to generate growth.JEL Classifications: O11, O13, Q32

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A new database on the barriers faced by foreign suppliers of services has been produced by the World Bank. Data for 103 countries are available on eleven of the most important services sectors in international trade. To date, however, these data have not been converted into ad valorem equivalents. Based on these data, and building on the methodology and publications supported by the Australian Productivity Commission, we produce estimates of the ad valorem equivalents of the barriers for all these sectors and countries. Compared with estimates available in the literature that are based on assessments of country and sector‐specific barriers to services providers, our estimates expand the set of sectors and more than triple the set of countries for which estimates of the ad valorem equivalents of the services barriers are available.

This paper is a product of the Trade and International Integration Team, Development Research Group. It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world.

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