Natural Resource Dependence and Monopolized Imports

Abstract

Countries with greater commodity export intensity have more concentrated markets for imported goods. Within countries over time, import market concentration is associated with higher domestic prices, suggesting that markups due to greater concentration outweigh any potential cost efficiency. Hydrocarbon fuel exporting economies especially have higher tariffs, tariff evasion, and non-tariff measures that concentrate markets. These results suggest a novel channel for the resource curse stemming from the monopolization of imports.