The Effects of Oil on Economic Development of Chad

Chad’s oil was extracted in 2003 by consortium oil companies and the World Bank. The World Bank and Chadian government agreed that once Chad starts to export oil to international market, the revenues would be used for development, but today evidence shows that oil production did not improve people’s basic necessities. The country remains one of the poorest countries in the world. This paper critically assesses the resource Curse in Chad by exploring the effects of the oil on Chad’s economic and social development. the finding shows that the declining of oil demand in 2016 has decreased the country’s import and Export due to the fact the country was heavily depend on exporting oil. Many of the Chad’s investments come from oil sector and since the investment in oil has been declining, foreign direct investment (FDI) also has fallen sharply. The paper also finds that rentier economy in Chad has permitted the president Idriss Deby to build a strong political elite that create a huge gap between the government and the civil society. the government uses public funding to support the patronage network, and that scenario has weakened institutions in Chad. The empirical findings have revealed that the oil production has exacerbated the already fragile economic of the country and that the government has no wills of development, this is why oil has a been a curse in Chad.