Revenues from the extractive sector can make a substantial difference in the lives of people living in the study countries, including Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Transparent governance of extractive resources can indeed enable governments to make important structural investments in infrastructure, social services, health facilities, etc. However, revenues from extractive resources do not always yield the expected benefits. Lack of transparent governance, corruption, inefficient use of funds allocated to local communities, among others, can greatly reduce or even render illusory the possibility for populations to benefit from “their” natural resources.