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Oil and the duration of dictatorships

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Abstract

Theoretical models do not reach an unambiguous conclusion concerning the effects of natural resource endowment on the duration of dictatorial regimes. We assess empirically, for the first time, the relationship between oil endowment and the duration of autocratic leaders. Using a dataset comprising information for 106 dictators, our empirical analysis indicates that dictators in countries which are relatively better endowed in terms of oil tend to stay longer in office. The result is robust to changes in the definition of dictatorial regimes and in the specifications used in the econometric analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austrian Institute of Economic Research and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Augasse 2-6, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Jesus Crespo Cuaresma

  2. Department of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Salzburg, Kapitelgasse 5-7, 5010, Salzburg, Austria

    Harald Oberhofer

  3. Department of Economics, Monash University, 900 Dandenong Road, 3145, Caulfield East, VIC, Australia

    Paul A. Raschky

Authors
  1. Jesus Crespo Cuaresma
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  2. Harald Oberhofer
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  3. Paul A. Raschky
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Correspondence to Harald Oberhofer.

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Crespo Cuaresma, J., Oberhofer, H. & Raschky, P.A. Oil and the duration of dictatorships. Public Choice 148, 505–530 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-010-9671-0

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