Natural resources and institutions, how do they interact? : a comparative study of South Sudan and Botswana

This thesis examines the reasons that for some countries their wealth in natural resources is considered as a curse than a blessing. The research analyzes the role of the quality of institutions in reducing natural resource curse, the appropriate policies used to reduce natural resource curse, and the ways of good institutions in fostering economic growth and development. The natural resource curse states that bad institutions fail to foster economic growth and development. In this thesis, Botswana represents an African country with good institutions in the management of natural resource for state building, hence a blessing. Meanwhile, South Sudan represents an African country with weak institutions in natural resource management, hence a curse. In South Sudan, this has led to the collapse of the economy coupled with the existing conflicts in the country, forcing more than 2 million people to exile in the neighboring country. The main aim of this thesis is to find out whether institutions quality can reduce natural resource curse. The findings show that, South Sudan has weak institutions which explain the natural resource curse. It's important for the government of South Sudan to invest in human and physical to achieved economic growth and development. This investment in turn contribute good institutions. Additionally, there is need to diversify the economy, set and implement fiscal regimes, and sovereign wealth fund. The qualitative research was conducted with data from the Worldwide Governance Indicators to measure and compare the quality of institutions between South Sudan and Botswana.