Natural resources, institutions, and economic transformation in Mozambique

On 25 November 2020, José Jaime Macuane, Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Eduardo Mondlane, and Carlos Muianga, researcher at IESE, will discuss their research on the institutional dynamics of the resources sector in Mozambique. 

The presentation is based on the WIDER Working Paper ‘Natural resources, institutions, and economic transformation in Mozambique’ elaborated as part of the Mozambique Institutional Diagnostic (MID) study under the Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme. The paper is part of the draft report of the MID study.

The MID study is part of the international research programme Economic Development and Institutions (EDI) funded by UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and is managed through a partnership with multiple organisations including Oxford Policy Management (OPM), Paris School of Economics, Centre de Recherche en Économie de Développement (CRED), the University of Namur, and Aide á la Décision Économique (ADE).

To join the seminar and take part in the discussion, register here. The presentation will be in Portuguese.

About the research

In the light of Mozambique’s natural resources boom – especially its large-scale investments in mining, oil, and gas – the researchers analyze the prospects for the extractive industries to contribute to economic transformation from an institutional perspective. To this purpose, they address the institutional dynamics of the resources sector and consider the underlying causes of the identified outcomes. The research presented is based on a desk review – documental and bibliographic – and on primary data gathered by the authors as part of their research into the field of natural resources and the political economy of development. The researchers conclude that, given Mozambique’s political patronage and clientelism, intra-ruling elite competition, limited productive base, weak state capacity, high level of poverty, and recurrent fiscal deficits, the prospects of the current resource boom leading to economic transformation, despite its considerable potential, are at best uncertain.

About the MID Seminar Series 

The MID Seminar Series offers a forum for the presentation and in-depth discussion of thematic studies and results developed as part of the Mozambique Institutional Diagnostic (MID) study. Elaborated by key specialists in their fields, the topics covered by the studies include decentralization, education, natural resources, and the rule of law in Mozambique.