Researchers
OPEC's net oil export revenues exceeded $1 trillion in 2008, and oil exporting states (petro states) are eager to learn from experience and from their peers how to mitigate the negative macroeconomic spillover effects such a massive explosion in revenues can bring about and to lay down the foundations for a sustainable, diversified economy. Oil importing states, on the other hand, followed this development very closely as they turned to abundantly capitalized oil funds to rescue companies that came under severe distress from the global credit crunch that began in 2008.
The Program on Oil Wealth Management in Developing States began in 2006 and in 2008 completed the construction of an original dataset that provides comprehensive data on a series of indicators of oil states' relative success in turning hydrocarbon assets into tangible development outcomes. It covers all 31 oil dependent producer countries and spans the years 1995 - 2007.
Another important pillar of this research program is the construction of an oil rents dataset, which seeks to overcome the opacity that still clouds global oil markets. By accounting for cross-country differences in production costs and in the quality of crude oil, this panel dataset quantifies the magnitude of profits generated by the hydrocarbon sector in over 50 countries and allows researchers to examine the political dynamics unleashed by expanding oil rents.
Further work on oil wealth management continues at CDDRL with a joint project by Professor Stephen Krasner (CDDRL/Political Science) and Professor Michael Ross (UCLA/Political Science). This second aspect of the program examines the connection between oil and governance in developing states.
Program Dimensions
- Comprehensive dataset of oil states and development outcomes
- Country cases studies on oil and development outcomes
- Workshops on oil, governance, and development
- Series of working papers on oil, governance, development, and resource management.