DOCSLIB.ORG

Competitiveness & Diversification

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Internati onal Policy Conference Proceedings Competi ti veness and Diversifi cati on: Strategic Challenges in a Petroleum-Rich Economy 14-15th March 2011, Accra, Ghana Disclaimer: This document has been produced without formal United Nations editing. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or its economic system or degree of development. Designations such as “developed”, “industrialized” and “developing” are intended for statistical conveni- ence and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process. Mention of firm names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by UNIDO. The opinions, statistical data and estimates contained in signed articles are the responsibility of the author(s) and should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or bearing the endorsement of UNIDO. Although great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of information herein, neither UNIDO nor its Member States assume any responsibility for consequences which may arise from the use of the material. International Policy Conference Proceedings Competitiveness and Diversification: Strategic Challenges in a Petroleum-Rich Economy 14-15th March 2011, Accra, Ghana Contents Preface ............................................................................................................... i Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director-General , United Nations Industrial Development Organization Foreword... ........................................................................................................ ii Hon. Minister of Trade and Industry, Republic of Ghana Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... iii Opening Statement .......................................................................................... iv H.E. The President of the Republic of Ghana Presented by the Hon. Min. Ms. Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry Welcome Address ..............................................................................................vi Hon. Min. Ms. Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry Presented by the Hon. Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. J. S. Annan Opening Statement .........................................................................................viii Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director-General , United Nations Industrial Development Organization 1. Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 2. Resources and economic growth: Is Africa (Ghana) different?.........................7 Thorvaldur Gylfason, University of Iceland, Reykjavic, Iceland 3. Dealing with the Dutch disease in a fragile political economy environment... .......17 Herbert P Mcleod, Adviser to the national Government of Sierra Leone 4. If diversification is good, why don’t countries diversify more? The political economy of diversification in resource-rich countries......................................23 Arne Wiig, Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Bergen, Norway Ivar Kolstad, Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Bergen, Norway 5. Revenue management, corruption challenges and redistribution... .............. 31 Inge Amundsen, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway International Policy Conference Proceedings 6. Strategic dispute dynamics and resolution: Government, business and non-state actor interfaces ................................................................................................ 41 Peter Jenkins, Alternative Dispute Resolution Group (ADRg) Bristol, UK and Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Geneva, Switzerland 7. Negotiating skills for conflict resolution... .................................................... 47 Sir Stewart Eldon, Alternative Dispute Resolution Group (ADRg), Bristol, UK 8. Strategic resources and their management: The oil find in Ghana ................ 55 Joseph Asamoah, EnerWise Africa, Pretoria, South Africa 9. How empowering Ghanaians can help Ghana avoid an oily mess ................ 61 Susan Ariel Aaronson, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA 10. Promoting legal mineral trade in Africa: New policy approaches ................ 67 Marie Lintzer, Resource Consulting Services Ltd., London, UK Harrison Mitchell, Resource Consulting Services Ltd., London, UK Nicholas Garrett, Resource Consulting Services Ltd., London, UK 11. The economics of mineral ownership rights, negotiations and legal issues..........75 Frederick T. Cawood, School of Mining Engineering at Wits University, Johannesburg, South Africa 12. Managing natural resources for human development in low-income coun- tries ......................................................................................................... 83 Pedro Conceição, Strategic Advisory Unit of the Regional Bureau for Africa at UNDP, New York, USA Ricardo Fuentes, Strategic Advisory Unit of the Regional Bureau for Africa at UNDP, New York, USA Sebastian Levine, Strategic Advisory Unit of the Regional Bureau for Africa at UNDP, New York, USA 13. National Systems of Innovation (NSI):Measurement and implications for science technology and innovation policy in Ghana...................................93 Ritin Koria, UNIDO, Vienna, Austria Sabine Köszegi, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria Competitiveness and Diversification: Strategic Challenges in a Petroleum-Rich Economy Preface by Kandeh K. Yumkella Director-General United Nations Industrial Development Organization The International Policy Conference on “Competitiveness development, particularly those that occur in resource-rich & Diversification: Strategic Challenges in a Petroleum-Rich countries, found expression in the International Policy Confer- Economy” organized by the United Nations Industrial Devel- ence. As emerging economies such as Ghana look for com- opment Organization (UNIDO) and the Ghana Ministry of petitive policy postures that will enable them to escape the Trade and Industry, held in Accra, Ghana, on 14–15 March paradox of plenty by diversifying their economic structures, 2011, addressed the following thematic areas of the well- the Conference brought together leading experts to discuss known phenomenon of the paradox of plenty, the resource the multifarious nature of the problem and possible solutions curse and, more formally, the ‘Dutch disease’: Governance, with government policymakers from Ghana. competitiveness and diversification; competitively avoiding the ‘Dutch disease’; diversifying investment in industry; stra- The collection of chapters in this volume represents the tegic disputes, dynamics and resolution; extractive industries, best of international policy analysis and research on the transparency and public interest; minerals and negotiation; enabling conditions; and the role of the National System of ‘Dutch disease’ with serious attention to the evidence-based Innovation. approach to economic policymaking. The economic as well as the political economic and institutional explanations for The service of the international community—through UNIDO the paradox are presented in terms of the challenges and as one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations— the need to enhance dynamic competitiveness and increase to provide global fora for addressing the policy issues and the rate of diversification and specialization in the national industrial economics that emerge from the challenges of economy facing the challenges of a resource boom. i International Policy Conference Proceedings Foreword by Hanna S. Tetteh Hon. Minister of Trade and Industry Republic of Ghana There is an increasingly poignant focus on resources—natural Economic history shows that the discovery of hydrocarbon and raw materials—and their relation to the economic devel- resources in a country does not lead automatically to pros- opment of developing countries in the light of the growth perity and welfare. On the contrary, many oil-rich economies patterns of emerging markets. The major concern regarding face difficulties translating resource revenues into sustainable resources and development revolves around the issue of rich economic growth with commensurate equity across society abundance and emiserating conditions of unbalanced and and manufacturing value-added in economic activities. The inequitable growth. The general paradox that resource-rich Conference addressed the paradox of plenty, the resource countries in Africa should be the ones which appear to be curse and more formally, the ‘Dutch disease’ in the eight the farthest away from the frontiers of modern economic thematic topics of: development needs to be a focus of empirical, practitioner and theoretical policy research and economic analysis. Among • Governance, competitiveness and diversification the resources that are challenging in their management for • Competitively avoiding the ‘Dutch disease’ the greater economic good, hydrocarbons seem to be the • Diversifying investment in industry most difficult to manage well in fiscal, economic and indus- • Strategic disputes, dynamics and resolution trial policy terms over the long run. This paradox of plenty, • Extractive industries, transparency
Recommended publications
  • Twenty-Four Conservative-Liberal Thinkers Part I Hannes H

    Twenty-Four Conservative-Liberal Thinkers Part I Hannes H

    Hannes H. Gissurarson Twenty-Four Conservative-Liberal Thinkers Part I Hannes H. Gissurarson Twenty-Four Conservative-Liberal Thinkers Part I New Direction MMXX CONTENTS Hannes H. Gissurarson is Professor of Politics at the University of Iceland and Director of Research at RNH, the Icelandic Research Centre for Innovation and Economic Growth. The author of several books in Icelandic, English and Swedish, he has been on the governing boards of the Central Bank of Iceland and the Mont Pelerin Society and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford, UCLA, LUISS, George Mason and other universities. He holds a D.Phil. in Politics from Oxford University and a B.A. and an M.A. in History and Philosophy from the University of Iceland. Introduction 7 Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) 13 St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) 35 John Locke (1632–1704) 57 David Hume (1711–1776) 83 Adam Smith (1723–1790) 103 Edmund Burke (1729–1797) 129 Founded by Margaret Thatcher in 2009 as the intellectual Anders Chydenius (1729–1803) 163 hub of European Conservatism, New Direction has established academic networks across Europe and research Benjamin Constant (1767–1830) 185 partnerships throughout the world. Frédéric Bastiat (1801–1850) 215 Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) 243 Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) 281 New Direction is registered in Belgium as a not-for-profit organisation and is partly funded by the European Parliament. Registered Office: Rue du Trône, 4, 1000 Brussels, Belgium President: Tomasz Poręba MEP Executive Director: Witold de Chevilly Lord Acton (1834–1902) 313 The European Parliament and New Direction assume no responsibility for the opinions expressed in this publication.
  • Econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible

    Econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible

    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Gylfason, Thorvaldur Working Paper Monetary and Fiscal Management, Finance, and Growth CESifo Working Paper, No. 1118 Provided in Cooperation with: Ifo Institute – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich Suggested Citation: Gylfason, Thorvaldur (2004) : Monetary and Fiscal Management, Finance, and Growth, CESifo Working Paper, No. 1118, Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/76552 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu MONETARY AND FISCAL MANAGEMENT, FINANCE, AND GROWTH THORVALDUR GYLFASON CESIFO WORKING PAPER NO. 1118 CATEGORY 5: FISCAL POLICY, MACROECONOMICS AND GROWTH JANUARY 2004 An electronic version of the paper may be downloaded • from the SSRN website: www.SSRN.com • from the CESifo website: www.CESifo.de CESifo Working Paper No.
  • Ministerial Report English

    Ministerial Report English

    AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE UNIÃO AFRICANA Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA P. O. Box 3243 Telephone 517 700 Cables: OAU, ADDIS ABABA AU CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRADE 7th ORDINARY SESSION 29 NOVEMBER – 03DECEMBER, 2011 ACCRA, GHANA AU/MIN/TD//Rpt(VII) Original: English REPORT OF THE MEETING OF MINISTERS AU/MIN/TD//Rpt. (VI) Page 1 REPORT OF THE MEETING OF MINISTERS INTRODUCTION 1. The Seventh Ordinary Session of the AU Conference of Ministers of Trade was convened at Ministerial level on 2 nd and 3 rd December 2011, at the Ghana International Conference Centre, Accra, Ghana. The meeting was declared open by H.E. Mrs. Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of Ghana. The Conference was addressed by H.E. Mr. Erastus Mwencha, the Deputy Chairperson of the AUC, and by H.E.Mr. Emmanuel Hategeka, Head of Delegation representing the Minister of trade and Industry of Rwanda, outgoing Chair. ATTENDANCE 2. The meeting was attended by the following Member States: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chad, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria , Rwanda, Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 3. The following Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and partner organisations participated in the meeting: COMESA, ECCAS, ECOWAS, SADC, EAC,UEMOA, ACP, ADB, CEPG, Commonwealth Secretariat, DFID, ECDPM, Joint Secretariat Support Unit UNECA/AfDB/AUC, OIF, NEPAD, South Centre, Third World Network Africa, UNECA, UNEP, UNDP, NANTS, SAANA, ACP MTS Programme, World Bank, World Customs Organization, WTO, Action Aid/Ghana, Centre for Africa Development and Progress (CADEP), ENDA Tiers Monde, and PRCCE.
  • E Tradequity

    E Tradequity

    TTrradequityadequityee A Newsletter of CUTS Africa Year 13, No. 1/2014 African Consumers: Rise up for your rights hile going through an online blog Eight Basic Won mobile phone services in Kenya Consumer Rights one will come across consumer experiences • Right to Satisfaction like this one, “I am writing to inform other of Basic Needs Kenyans of a disservice my service provider • Right to Safety has done on its consumers. I am sure this • Right to be Informed has affected other users of this network. I • Right to Choose loaded airtime of Kenyan Shillings 800 to • Right to be Heard purchase the 1.5GB internet bundle on • Right to Redress rd 3 March 2012, and then I got a message • Right to Consumer to wait for my bundle to be activated. After Education and three visits and many calls I was told that • Right to a Healthy there is no credit on my phone. Due this Environment harassment and forgery I am switching to another provider”. The comments, under effectively play their role. The judiciary, protection tax or fund, so that these this post had several similar and even more legal fraternity, trade unions, media, CSOs, resources could assist consumer pestering experiences from others. parliamentarians and consumers ought to organisations. CUTS Nairobi participated A Zambian newspaper reported this be activily engaged. actively with other organisations in a public harrowing story that “Some broiler To generate awareness on consumer event organised by the Competition chicken breeders in Kasama (Zambia) were protection issues the ‘World Consumer Authority of Kenya. reportedly mixing feed with Antiretro Viral Rights Day’ (WCRD) is observed every Many consumer protection civil society (ARV) and contraceptive drugs to feed year on March 15, across the globe.
  • An Examination of the Opportunities and Challenges Facing Women in Ghana’S Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (2000-2019)

    An Examination of the Opportunities and Challenges Facing Women in Ghana’S Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (2000-2019)

    University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh AN EXAMINATION OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING WOMEN IN GHANA’S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION (2000-2019) BY: MAXINE ADWOA ANSAH (10701880) THIS DISSERTATION IS SUBMITED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF AN MA IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND DIPLOMACY DEGREE LEGON DECEMBER 2019 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I, hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of an original research conducted under the supervision of Dr. Yao Gebe and that all references have been duly acknowledged. This dissertation has not been presented either in whole or in part to any other educational institution for any purpose. …………………………………… …………………………………….. MAXINE ADWOA ANSAH DR. YAO GEBE (STUDENT) (SUPERVISOR) …………………………….. ……………………………………... DATE DATE i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my mummy, Cecilia Mbroba Baah. Your love and prayers have made this possible. Thank you. ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My sincere gratitude goes to God Almighty for His divine strength, direction, teaching and counsel which have guided my work. My appreciation goes to my mummy, Cecilia Mbroba Baah, my aunt Mrs. Julie Asante, my friends Annie Adu-Gyamfi and Michael Kojo Adams for their constant check-ups, words of encouragement and all the sacrifices they made to ensure that I completed this work. To my LECIAD classmates who helped in a myriad of ways to help me finish this work, thank you. To my supervisor, Dr.
  • The 2008 Icelandic Bank Collapse: Foreign Factors

    The 2008 Icelandic Bank Collapse: Foreign Factors

    The 2008 Icelandic Bank Collapse: Foreign Factors A Report for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs Centre for Political and Economic Research at the Social Science Research Institute University of Iceland Reykjavik 19 September 2018 1 Summary 1. An international financial crisis started in August 2007, greatly intensifying in 2008. 2. In early 2008, European central banks apparently reached a quiet consensus that the Icelandic banking sector was too big, that it threatened financial stability with its aggressive deposit collection and that it should not be rescued. An additional reason the Bank of England rejected a currency swap deal with the CBI was that it did not want a financial centre in Iceland. 3. While the US had protected and assisted Iceland in the Cold War, now she was no longer considered strategically important. In September, the US Fed refused a dollar swap deal to the CBI similar to what it had made with the three Scandinavian central banks. 4. Despite repeated warnings from the CBI, little was done to prepare for the possible failure of the banks, both because many hoped for the best and because public opinion in Iceland was strongly in favour of the banks and of businessmen controlling them. 5. Hedge funds were active in betting against the krona and the banks and probably also in spreading rumours about Iceland’s vulnerability. In late September 2008, when Glitnir Bank was in trouble, the government decided to inject capital into it. But Glitnir’s major shareholder, a media magnate, started a campaign against this trust-building measure, and a bank run started.
  • Macroeconomic Dynamics Vol

    Macroeconomic Dynamics Vol

    Macroeconomic Dynamics Vol. 17, No. 7, October 2013 Pages 1367–1542 17, No. 7, October 2013 Pages Dynamics Vol. Macroeconomic VOLUME 17, NUMBER 7, OCTOBER 2013 MACROECONOMIC DYNAMICS Volume 17, Number 7, October 2013 Contents ARTICLES Public Intrastructure and Externalities in U. S. Manufacturing: Evidence from the Price-Augmenting AIM Cost Function Guohua Feng and Apostolos Serletis 1367 Binding Minimum Wage as an Equilibrium Selection Device Julie Beugnot 1411 Growth and Firm Dynamics with Horizontal and Vertical R&D MACROECONOMIC Pedro Mazeda Gil, Paulo Brito, and Oscar Afonso 1438 Credit Frictions and Firm Dynamics Zheng Zeng 1467 DYNAMICS Alternative Government Spending Rules: Effects on Income Inequality and Welfare G. C. Lim and Paul D. McNelis 1496 NOTES Note on Ergodic Chaos in the RSS Model Paulo S. A. Sousa 1519 A Note on Credit Market Development and Human Capital Accumulation Wai-Hong Ho 1525 EDITOR: WILLIAM A. BARNETT Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.202.58, on 30 Sep 2021 at 12:05:01, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1365100513000539 113651005_17-7.indd3651005_17-7.indd 1 99/3/13/3/13 55:00:00 PPMM MACROECONOMIC DYNAMICS MACROECONOMIC DYNAMICS Editor: William A. Barnett, University of Kansas, Department of Economics, 356 Snow Hall, 1460 Jayhawk Notes for Contributors Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045–7523, USA, and The Center for Financial Stability, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10036, USA. Book Review Editors: Michele Boldrin, Department of Economics, Washington University, One Brookings Contributions.
  • Ten Years After: Iceland's Unfinished Business

    Ten Years After: Iceland's Unfinished Business

    18 October 2018 Ten Years After: Iceland´s Unfinished Business Thorvaldur Gylfason* 1. Introduction This study discusses the economic, political, and judicial aftermath of Iceland´s financial collapse in 2008. It considers lessons learned, or not learned, with emphasis on unsettled issues concerning the distribution of incomes and wealth, banking, and politics. The study makes three main points. First, the measurement of income flows and living standards needs to be adjusted in two respects. Just as assets must be assessed in two dimensions, in terms of their returns and risk, national incomes and wealth need to be gauged in terms of their level as well as their dispersion across the population. This is hard to do. Commonly used measures of the distribution of incomes and wealth are incomplete for two reasons. They customarily include only income from labor but not from capital and private wealth in tax havens and such is significantly underreported. Zucman (2013) reported that nearly $6 trillion of global household financial wealth goes unreported, at the time equivalent roughly to ten percent of world GDP (see also Zucman 2015). Further, macroeconomic flows and stocks, incomes and wealth, need to be assessed side by side because high incomes can be misleading if they are sustained by the depletion of stocks (natural resources, net foreign assets, social capital, etc.). This means that observers need beware of extolling the beauty of volcanoes that are about to erupt – as the IMF learned the hard way when its staff wrote as follows in 2007 (Wagner 2010, 11): Iceland’s medium-term prospects remain enviable.
  • India-Ghana Relations

    India-Ghana Relations

    India-Ghana Relations Political relations: Indo-Ghanaian relations have traditionally been warm and friendly. The strong foundation of our bilateral relations was laid by India’s first Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, and Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. The two great leaders also enjoyed a close friendship. Major visits from Ghana in the past include the visit of President Nkrumah in 1961 and President Limann in 1981. President Rawlings made a stopover in Mumbai on his way from Beijing in 1993, and again visited India in 1997 to attend the funeral ceremony of Late Mother Teresa. In addition, there were several Ministerial visits, including that of the Foreign Minister for the NAM Ministerial Conference in April 1986. President Kufuor, accompanied by a high level delegation visited India in August 2002. Four bilateral agreements were signed including one which relates to the setting up of a Centre of Excellence for Training in Information Technology in Accra (which became operational in December 2003); and Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA); Protocol on Consultations between MEA and Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a Cultural and Scientific Exchange Programme. The Vice President of Ghana H.E. Alhaji Aliu Mahama, led a large Ghanaian delegation to the CII conclave held in New Delhi in March 2008. In April 2008, President Kufuor visited India to participate in India-Africa Forum Summit held in New Delhi. Vice President John Dramani Mahama accompanied by Minister of Trade & Industry Ms. Hanna Tetteh visited India to participate in the CII-Exim Bank Conclave in March 2010.
  • Institute of Economic Studies

    Institute of Economic Studies

    ISSN 1011-8888 INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC STUDIES WORKING PAPER SERIES W07:13 December 2007 Growing apart? A tale of two republics: Estonia and Georgia. Thorvaldur Gylfason and Eduard Hochreiter Address: Thorvaldur Gylfason Faculty of Economics and Business Administration University of Iceland Oddi, at Sturlugata, 101 Reykjavik Iceland Email: [email protected] Address: Eduard Hochreiter Joint Vienna Institute Mariahilferstrasse 97 A-1060 Vienna Email: [email protected] Growing Apart? A Tale of Two Republics: Estonia and Georgia Thorvaldur Gylfason University of Iceland, CEPR, and CESifo and Eduard Hochreiter Joint Vienna Institute November 2007 Abstract 1 We compare and contrast the economic growth performance of Estonia and Georgia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 in an attempt to understand better the extent to which the growth differential between the two countries can be traced to increased efficiency in the use of capital and other resources (intensive growth) as opposed to brute accumulation of capital (extensive growth). We infer that advances in education at all levels, good governance, and institutional reforms have played a more significant role in raising economic output and efficiency in Estonia than in Georgia which remains marred by various problems related to weak governance in the public and private spheres. Keywords: Economic growth, governance, transition economies JEL numbers: O16 1 We would like to thank Nikoloz Gigineishvili, Ekke Nõmm, Martti Randveer, and Märten Ross for their detailed comments on an earlier version of the paper. The views expressed in the paper should not be attributed to the institutions with which we are affiliated. 1. Introduction Looking at the fate of the fifteen states that emerged from the Soviet Union, we find it striking how different their economic evolution has been since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
  • Beyond the Curse: Policies to Harness the Power of Natural Resources

    Beyond the Curse: Policies to Harness the Power of Natural Resources

    Beyond the Curse Policies to Harness the Power of Natural Resources EDITORS Rabah Arezki, Thorvaldur Gylfason, and Amadou Sy INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND ©International Monetary Fund. Not for Redistribution © 2011 International Monetary Fund Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beyond the curse : policies to harness the power of natural resources / editors, Rabah Arezki, Thorvaldur Gylfason, and Amadou Sy. – Washington, DC : International Monetary Fund, 2011. p. ; cm. This book is based on a high level seminar on natural resource, finance and development, IMF Institute and Central Bank of Algeria, Algiers, November, 4-5, 2010. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-61635-145-8 1. Natural resources. 2. Resource curse. 3. Fiscal policy. 4. Monetary policy. 5. Foreign exchange rates. 6. Diversification in industry. 7. Economic development. 8. Primary commodities. 9. Prices. 10. Exports. 11. Finance. 12. Financial institutions. 13. Sovereign wealth funds. I. Arezki, Rabah. II. Gylfason, Thorvaldur, 1951-. III. Sy, Amadou N. R. IV. International Monetary Fund. HC85.B49 2011 Disclaimer: The views expressed in this book are those of the authors and should not be reported as or attributed to the International Monetary Fund, its Executive Board, or the governments of any of its member countries. Please send orders to: International Monetary Fund, Publication Services P.O. Box 92780, Washington, DC 20090, U.S.A. Tel: (202) 623-7430 Fax: (202) 623-7201 Email: [email protected] Internet: www.imfbookstore.org Cover design: Lai Oy Louie, IMF Multimedia
  • The International Economics of Natural Resources and Growth by THORVALDUR GYLFASON*

    The International Economics of Natural Resources and Growth by THORVALDUR GYLFASON*

    2007; 1–2:7–17 The International Economics of Natural Resources and Growth by THORVALDUR GYLFASON* Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Iceland Abstract This article is in three parts. First, it curse. Secondly, an attempt is made to To date, Norway has appeared to be briefly describes the contribution of provide a glimpse of recent empirical mostly free of the worrisome symp- natural resources to economic growth evidence that can be brought to bear toms, such as the Dutch disease, that around the world, pondering the on this question. Thirdly, the article have afflicted many other countries question whether an abundance of discusses the experience of Norway, with abundant natural resources. natural resources is a blessing or a the world’s third largest oil exporter. INTRODUCTION resources, whether fertile land …, or valuable minerals, or oil and gas. It was only after I There was a time when economic geography was a had been in office for some years that I popular subject that was widely taught at uni- recognized … that the decisive factors were versities in Europe and elsewhere. Importantly, the the people, their natural abilities, education old economic geography was the study of raw and training.’’1 materials and their distribution around the world and it assigned a key role to natural resource So how do countries grow rapidly? What does it wealth and raw materials and their ownership and take? Recent economic growth theory suggests trade routes. There was a tendency among several key factors: economic geographers as well as in public consciousness to equate the ownership of those 1) Saving and investment to build up real capital – important resources with economic strength.