Book Description

These contributions bring both theoretical models and case studies to bear on the consequences of natural resource discoveries in developed and developing countries. Whether it is natural gas in the Netherlands, oil in the UK, Norway, or Mexico, or minerals in Australia, these discoveries have been accused of causing severe structural problems, which have been given the name "Dutch Disease." Although a sizeable literature dealing with various aspects of the Dutch Disease has now developed, this is the first attempt to confront theory with evidence. Natural Resources and the Macroeconomycontains contributions by such scholars as Alan Gelb, Ricardo Martin, Kadir R. Yurukoglu, and Shahid A. Chaudhry (all at the World Bank); Jeroen J. M. Kremers (Oxford University); Julie Aklaksen and Olav Bjerkholt (Central Bureau of Statistics, Oslo); Lance Taylor (MIT); William Branson (Princeton); Partha Dasgupta (University of Cambridge); and Ronald Jones (University of Rochester). The editors, J. Peter Neary (University College, Dublin) and Sweder Van Wijnbergen (World Bank) have written the opening chapter, Natural Resources and the Macroeconomy: A Theoretical Framework. Other topics include: Adjustment to Windfall Gains: A Comparative Analysis of Oil Exporting Countries; Government and the Dutch Disease in the Netherlands; Policy Analysis of Shadow Pricing, Foreign Borrowing, and Resource Extraction in Egypt; Certainty Equivalent Procedures in the Macroeconomic Planning of an Oil Economy: The Case of Norway; A Macro Model of an Oil Exporter: Nigeria; Commodity Export Prices and the Real Exchange Rate in Columbia: The Money-Inflation Link; Booming Sectors and Structural Change in Australia and Britain; Indonesia's Other Dutch Disease: Economic Effects of the Petroleum Boom. The book concludes with a roundtable discussion which illustrates the divergent views among economists of the consequences of natural resource booms and the appropriate policies which should be adopted toward them. The book is based on a conference held in June 1985 by the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London.