What is the impact of Sovereign wealth funds on diversification and development?
While the origins of the sovereign wealth funds can be traced back to the first sovereign wealth fund established in Qatar in 1953 and many of the largest sovereign wealth funds emerged in Middle East in during the oil boom of the 1970s, a significant acceleration in the development of these funds has occurred over the past decade (Alsweilem and Rietveld, 2018).
Given the worldwide sheer asset size that SWFs possess (more than 8 trillion USD in 2019 (SWFI), this study aims to cover the information on the impact of SWFs on economic growth and diversification that is currently absent in economic literature.
The literature stream is divided into several streams. Firstly, it will discuss different types and definitions of the sovereign wealth funds. Secondly, it will aim to evaluate the larger picture of a natural resource curse and its impact on diversification and economic growth, Thirdly, it will analyze the role of sovereign wealth funds within the larger picture of the state and industrial policy.
Fourthly, this will look at empirical evidence of positive impact of sovereign wealth funds on development and evaluate existing gaps in the literature.
