Russia, rich with energy resources, was awash with cash because of it.

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Nor are all of them victims of financial collapse: the local economies in some outer islands, rich with exportable resources, such as palm oil, have continued to grow throughout the crisis.

ECONOMIST: Indonesia��s chance

While Africa is a continent rich in resources, with 12% of the world's oil reserves and 42% of its gold, we cannot follow too narrow a path to development.

WSJ: Paul Kagame: Rwanda and the New Lions of Africa

Rich in natural resources and with a youthful population of 60 million, the country seems ripe for investment.

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Beginning with Spain, European powers battled over the territory until France officially colonized it in 1664, then repopulating it with African slaves to work the plantations rich in natural resources.

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But if the poor copy the pattern of wealth creation that made Europe and America rich, they will eat up as many resources as the Americans do, with grim consequences for the planet.

ECONOMIST: Demography, growth and the environment