Asset Building Policies to Lift the Resource Curse: Child Development Accounts in Oil-and-Gas-Rich Countries

Why do so many resource-rich nations score low on measures of economic, social, and human development?

Commonly termed the resource curse, or the paradox of plenty, the trend has remained stubbornly resistant to intervention, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Azerbaijan, a post-Soviet middle-income country with considerable oil and gas deposits, serves as the case for this study, which develops a proposal for linking resource revenues to a national Child Development Account (CDA) policy. Drawing upon data from 94 interviews with key informants from six countries, as well as findings from CDA research and implemented policies, the study articulates a design for a national CDA policy in the republic.