Resource curse or blessing in Africa's oil cities? Empirical evidence from Sekondi-Takoradi, West Africa

Africa continues to be the source of a significant amount of oil, but the debate about the role of oil extraction in the process of economic development on the continent remains unsettled both theoretically and empirically. Based on urban level data obtained from Sekondi-Takoradi in West Africa, this paper calls into question the terms of the debate. It demonstrates that the oil city is not monolithically blessed or cursed, but it is a contested arena where curses and blessings co-exist and are distributed along class lines. Indeed, to the extent that they can be so classified, 'blessings' or 'curses' are social constructs, shaped and defined by power relations and institutions.