A silver lining? Impact of Commodity Price Fall on Good Governance in Sierra Leone
was just posted by the World Bank Institute’s Governance for Extractive Industries Program (GOXI) written in collaboration with Nicolas Maennling and Lisa Sachs.
From 2002 to 2013, resource-rich countries in Africa enjoyed the benefits of a commodity boom, using increased revenues to embark on major infrastructure projects in roads, rail, ports, and housing. But when commodity prices fell starting in 2011 (see figure below), public sector revenues took a major hit with private sector companies scaling back operations, delaying investment decisions and suspending unprofitable operations. Especially as the number and size of investments in the sector contracted, Governments felt increased pressure to collect, manage and spend those revenues more efficiently. As a result, the fall in commodity prices and mounting economic pressure actually led to opportunities to improve governance of the extractives sector.
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