The Complexity of an Oil Economy : A theoretical analysis of the Angolan economy as a complex adaptive system

Sammanfattning: In this thesis, the development and current state of the Angolan economy is analyzed on the basis of complexity theory in order to emphasize the interactions and relationships of the heterogeneous agents in it as well as the consequences of those interactions for the economy as a whole. A political economy approach is used to analyze the dualities and polarizations in the economy, and two stylized facts are identified as important for understanding the development of the Angolan economy; the deindustrialization of a country due to a booming oil sector causing an exchange rate appreciation in the core model of Max Corden (1984), and extractive institutions in a former colony hampering investments and development in the economy due to lack of protection of property rights (Acemoglu et al, 2001). The implications of these stylized facts for the case of Angola are investigated as well, and an ultimately an agent-based discussion is held.