Stories are repeated again and again around the world. The resource-rich countries have been victims of poverty, unrest, and tyranny.
In the 1997 study Jeffrey D. Sachs and Andrew M. Warner, the authors suggest that instead of promoting economic growth, countries with substantial resources often experience slower economic growth without the slightest evidence to suggest geographical or climatic locations impact on this. Phenomenon.
There seems to be a direct link between dependence on energy sources and authoritarianism. Larry Diamond from Stanford University said: "There are twenty-three countries in the world that earn at least 60 percent of their exports from oil and gas and none is true democracy."
Venezuela
Venezuela is perhaps the most striking example of this incident today. The country has the largest oil reserves on the planet, but is now experiencing one of the worst economic crises in its history. Once the richest economy in South America, the country today resembles one in the middle of a civil war. In 2014, the country saw its murder rate skyrocket.
Excessive dependenceVenezuela on oil has brought this country to a difficult position. Oil accounts for 96% of the country's exports, making it vulnerable to changes in oil prices. Not only that, the state's dependence on resources has created a toxic relationship between the oil industry and the government, with rampant corruption and leaders not wanting to part with their dairy cows.
Iraq
On the other side of the world, Iraq has experienced a similar dilemma.
More than half of Iraq's GDP comes from oil, in fact, state reserves represent 10% of all proven oil reserves in the world.
In Iraq Saddam Hussein, the country has a similar impact on Venezuela. Hussein's regime uses revenues generated from the country's abundant resources to suppress citizens, increase the military, and fund fruitless wars with neighboring Iran and Kuwait. In addition, the regime builds large palaces and sucks money into their personal bank accounts.
This action thwarted the country's economic promises and caused one of the most deadly wars of late.
Nigeria
In Africa, Nigeria has successfully violated the top 20 economies of the world. The country is experiencing a promising growth spurt. Beginning in 1956, when oil was first discovered in the Niger Delta, the country began to follow a dangerous path of oil dependence.
Nigeria is hit hard because of oil price fluctuations that bring the project offline and destroy the country's GDP. Now, the country is facing a level of growth and negative unrest. It should look to other industries if it wishes to return to its former glory. Former Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Charles Soludo noted: "It's been a long time, we've lived with a lingerie cloak, and I think for the next generation, for the 400 million Nigerians expected in this country by 2050, oil can not be a way forward for the future."
It is true that a country's economic diversification is essential to counter this curse.
Enter blockchain & technology
There are some countries that have identified their own dependence on non-renewable natural resources and are beginning to diversify their economies through new technological developments.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates are important examples. Each has embarked on a pathway involving technology to ease their dependence on oil and gas.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Crown Price Mohammad bin Salman has developed the Vision 2030 plan. The plan seeks to achieve a broad goal, but mainly to free Saudi Arabia from its dependence on oil. With the development of renewable resources and consumer goods, the country aims to increase its non-oil and gas exports as part of GDP to 50%.
Saudi Arabia also aims to improve their banking system through the use of blockchain technology to streamline the real estate sector domestically and facilitate trade-based transactions with its neighbors.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates also wants to diversify. The country has recently invested $ 163 billion in renewable energy projects. In addition, the UAE has launched the 2050 Energy Strategy. Sheikh Mohammed, UAE Vice President and Emirate of Dubai Emirate explained: "The plan aims to increase usage efficiency by up to 40 percent and increase net energy contribution by up to 50 percent."
The UAE is also at the forefront of the movement to streamline the government banking sector and by using blockchain technology with the aim of turning to diversified "knowledge-based" economies.
In the UAE Vision 2021, the country is trying to block technology to completely change the way the government tracks and processes data. Through the process of eliminating unnecessary complications in its bureaucratic process, the country aims to streamline its education, health and banking systems.
Russia
Russia may be one of the most exciting diversification examples of natural resources. Rather than completely abandoning dependence on oil, the country started a path to create a $ 100 billion Bitcoin mine.
The Russian government has developed a plan to create an initial coin offering (ICO) to fund a large-scale Bitcoin mining operation in which miners will use 20GW of excess capacity to mine Bitcoin in order to compete with China. "RMC plans to use semiconductor chips designed in Russia for use on satellites to minimize power consumption in computers for crypto mining," Putin's internet ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev told a press conference in Moscow. Marinichev added that the country has the potential to achieve a 30% share in the global kriptocurrency market.
In this ambitious effort, mining hardware is given to individuals, each of whom gets a share of mined Bitcoin, not only providing an incentive to participate, but also a drastic economic shift, whose results will still be visible.
While there may not be a simple solution in diverting from natural resources, following these countries in their respective paths can provide a solid, ongoing example. Through technology, there is now more opportunity than to diversify for non-renewable natural resources.