There has been a growing scholarly interest in the links between natural resources and socio-economic development. While numerous studies offer robust evidence on the detrimental effects of natural resource dependence on economic outcomes, no study has robustly investigated the link between natural resource dependence and quality of life across countries. The aim of this study is to address this gap in the literature by investigating the relationship between natural resource dependency and social progress. Using the cross-country data from 143 countries for the period of 2012 to 2019, we find that resource rents are significantly and negatively linked to the Social Progress Index. Moreover, this effect remains robust even after controlling the potential transmission channels such as governance, economic development and human capital accumulation.
Natural resource dependence, public education investment, and human capital accumulation
