Abstract
This article aims to systematize and interpret the arguments of the main authors that make up the international literature, particularly the most recent (2005-2015), about the debate on the relationship between abundance of natural resources and economic development. To achieve the proposed objective, a critical literature review was carried out and the main authors were organized according to schools of economic thought. We identify three main schools that shape the current debate: the structuralist / Keynesians that advocate the natural resource “curse” idea; the neo-institutionalists that support the conception that institutions are crucial to inhibiting the “curse”; and the neo-schumpeterians that follow the view that innovation and capacity building impede the “curse”. Organizing the debate by identifying these schools and grouping their main authors makes it possible to better understand their theoretical and empirical differences.
Keywords:
Economic development and natural resource; Natural resource curse; Institutions; Linkages; Structural change and innovation