Mehdi Omidi
Abstract
This article deals with reviewing theories developed from the middle of the last century about countries with abundant natural resources. In this regard, related theories in development literature as well as discourses and theories of Rentier State, Dutch disease, resource curse and also institutionalist ...
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This article deals with reviewing theories developed from the middle of the last century about countries with abundant natural resources. In this regard, related theories in development literature as well as discourses and theories of Rentier State, Dutch disease, resource curse and also institutionalist theories that tried to evaluate the political, economic, cultural and social structures of these countries have been analysed. Furthermore, their changes to date were also explored. While referring to the main claims of these theories as well as the internal and external criticisms, the current article tries to highlight their theoretical and empirical gaps. An attempt was also made to allow criticizing and reformulating these theories and discourses by emphasizing on their strength and weaknesses points. This can pave the way for future empirical studies while also providing a critical review of available theories. On this basis, the problems neglecting the historical roots of the formation of the state and economy in many of these research currents, special feature of addressing the issue of politics and state in other currents, and the analysis of the social systems of these countries based on standard patterns in most related discourses, have been emphasized in the narrative presented in this article.
Farshad Momeni; Ismail Aalizad; Vahid Mirebeigi
Abstract
For years researchers have associated the developmental problems of countries possessing natural resources like oil with the very fact of the possession of such resources. The numerous studies of this field have mostly focused on the theories of the Rentier State and the Resource Curse. Today, with the ...
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For years researchers have associated the developmental problems of countries possessing natural resources like oil with the very fact of the possession of such resources. The numerous studies of this field have mostly focused on the theories of the Rentier State and the Resource Curse. Today, with the advent of empirical research and theoretical criticism, there is little doubt with regards to the shortcomings of the classic theories of the field. The latest research has also attempted to mitigate the extremes of the classic theories of rentierism which usually cover a limited scope of the suggested outcomes of rentierism, and such theories have not formed a comprehensive and elaborate theory, nor have they presented an appropriate ideal type of the rentier state for historical investigations. The present paper presents a critical survey of the literature on rentierism, focusing on one main question: how can this theory be improved? With respect to this question, at first, rentierism literature will be reviewed, then the institutionalist theory of Douglass North shall be introduced. By recognizing the advantages and disadvantages of both theories, the present paper goes on to formulate new conceptual framework named the "Rentier Limited Access Order". Not only is this framework rooted in both theories, but it also goes beyond them and delivers new insights with which rentier states can be studied.