Budget Rules for Resource Booms - and Busts
The recent, precipitous decline in oil prices (35 percent so far this year) has revived the question of how oil-exporting countries should manage their budgets. These countries’ governments rely on...
View ArticleLessons from Reducing Energy Subsidies
A view from Central Europe and the Baltics Energy subsidies are common throughout the world. The bulk of subsidies are paid in the Middle East and North Africa where my colleague, Shanta Devarajan,...
View ArticleThe Impact of Falling Oil Prices
Notes from Russia and Kazakhstan Oil prices tumbled dramatically since July when they reached US$115 per barrel to below US$65 per barrel in recent days. Despite the sharp price decline, OPEC signaled...
View ArticleCan Pay for Performance Provide the Wrong Incentives?
The use of technology to improve productivity continues to evolve. In Modern Times, Tramp had to keep up with the crazy pace of the assembly line; in contemporary public administrations, employees...
View ArticleAll About My Age
And Why I’m Much Older than I Thought I was When my kids became teenagers I began to feel old: I saw myself as fit, healthy and (relatively) young but they, clearly, didn’t and it began to be un-cool...
View ArticleHow Well did We Forecast 2014?
A year ago, we polled Future Development bloggers for predictions on the coming year (2014). Looking back, we find that many unforeseen (and possibly unforeseeable) events had major economic impact....
View ArticleThe Decline in Oil Prices: An Opportunity
A decade of elevated oil prices brought prosperity to many developing countries. Incomes rose, poverty shrank, macroeconomic buffers were rebuilt. The fiscal space for investing more in education and...
View ArticleFuture Development Forecasts 2015
Despite their mixed record last year, Future Development's bloggers once again offer their predictions for 2015. Eight themes emerge. 1. Global growth and trade. The US economy will strengthen far...
View ArticleFrom Imitating to Innovating
Time to Change Gears for Poland’s EconomyPoland is Europe’s growth champion. It has more than doubled its GDP per capita since the beginning of post-socialist transition in 1989, consistently growing...
View ArticleIt’s Hard to Say Goodbye
When we launched Future Development almost a year and a half ago I didn’t anticipate it would take over my life the way it did and right now I feel as if a dear friend was leaving for a different...
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