Myanmar?s Jade-Rich Hpakant Caught in a ?Winner?s Curse? irrawaddy.com

Natural resources are bestowed by the Earth and seem a blessing for human beings. However, an abundance of natural resources is not necessarily a blessing if the country cannot manage its endowments properly. In fact, they can be a curse rather than a blessing. The term ?resource curse? was coined by Richard M. Auty, who investigated the puzzling phenomenon of why resource-rich countries tend to be poor.