Natural Resources, Energy Dependency, and their Association with Institutional and Growth-Related Variables in the Black Sea and Southeastern European Region

Abstract

Abstract This paper focuses on the Southeastern European and Black Sea Countries and examines the association between natural resources abundance, energy dependency, and a series of growth-related and institutional variables during a thirty-year period (1985–2015). The empirical results show a positive impact of natural resource abundance on the majority of the examined variables, which does not support the resource curse hypothesis. Common sector characteristics of the examined economies verify the empirical results. JEL classifications: Q20, Q30, Q32, Q43 Black Sea Area, Dutch disease, Economic Growth, Energy Dependency, Natural Resources, Transition Economies