Gaz łupkowy w Polsce a „przekleństwo zasobów naturalnych”
Shale Gas in Poland and the Resource Curse

Summary/Abstract: The resource curse hypothesis postulates that, often, countries rich in natural resources are not able to fully exploit the economic potential of these resources. It has been observed that the more abundantly a country is endowed with resources, the greater is the likelihood of slow (or even negative) GDP growth rate in that country. The curse of natural resources can have different manifestations: economic, institutional and social. The potentially abundant shale gas resources provide an interesting context to study this hypothesis in Poland. Indeed, the situation in Poland resembles that which is often discussed with regard to the resource curse: the sudden discovery of abundant resources, arousing high expectations, with limited national extractive capacities. This article provides a brief overview of the natural resource curse hypothesis based on foreign literature, and then highlights and discusses the most relevant issues which need to be considered in the context of shale gas in Poland. The latter include: quality of institutions, corruption, unequal access to knowledge and uneven bargaining power, a false sense of security, nuisances for local communities and the Dutch disease. In Poland, the potential problems may differ from those observed in less developed countries. The curse in our context may not necessarily translate into low or negative GDP growth rates, but rather into not being able to reap the full potential benefits related to this natural wealth. Based on the above analysis, the article suggests actions to be taken in order to avoid the potential problems (e.g. effective social control over the organization of shale gas extraction and the distribution of income).

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