Mongolia: Natural Resources at Stake During Elections | World | TIME.com: "As birds of prey soared overhead and livestock grazed on the summer’s grassland bounty, Baterdene jumped off his horse and strode into the wooden primary school in Erdene village in Mongolia’s Tov province. The horseman had ridden 15 km to vote in the June 28 parliamentary elections in a country that was one of the world’s fastest growing economies last year because of an unprecedented mining boom.
Driving the polls was the question of how best to divide the proceeds of this natural-resource wealth among Mongolia’s 3 million citizens. After all, 30% of Mongolians live under the poverty line, even as foreign investors jockey for the untapped riches hidden below the vast steppe. Can Mongolia, which boasted an astronomic 17.3% growth in 2011, avoid the kind of natural-resource curse that has foiled countries like Nigeria?"
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