Opinions

Challenges to an extractives-led growth agenda for Guyana

In the exploitation of many depletable resources, two separate investment activities can be distinguished that must take place if production is to continue in an orderly fashion: exploration and development. It is well accepted in economic theory that land...

Creating a more resilient Guyanese economy to overcome the challenges of the Resource Curse

The theory of a ‘curse of natural resources’ can be traced back to the 1970s. The subsequent two decades saw the emergence of a significant body of research proposing a link between resource production, economic underperformance and various socio-political...

Maximising Guyana’s potential as an emerging resource-driven economy

As an emerging resource-driven economy and one with a particularly low average income, Guyana must use its resources sectors as a platform for broader economic development, which could transform its growth prospects. However, as with other similar countries, Guyana...

Ensuring Guyana’s petroleum resources are a blessing and not a curse

Whether the natural resources of a country will be a blessing or a curse, depends on various factors. The recent oil discoveries of Guyana can induce an appreciation of the real exchange rate, deindustrialisation and bad growth prospects, and...

Commercial choices and developmental linkages for Guyana’s promising oil economy

Government preferences should take into account wider factors than those considered by private investors. This is because governments are concerned with the linkages between petroleum production and the rest of the economy. Also, governments are or should be responsible...

Towards a depletion policy for Guyana’s petroleum resources

The main aim of any country with petroleum resources is to achieve a self-sufficient level of oil production as quickly as possible. The analysis of resource management yields general guidelines, but very little in the way of practical concrete...

Policy issues to consider for a Guyanese oil fund

Economic theory suggests that there are a number of advantages arising from the establishment of an oil fund. These include the opportunity to create sustainable wealth, facilitate economic development over the long-term, enhance economic stability and ensure that the...

Inter-generational equity and the rationale for Guyana’s “Sovereign Wealth Fund”

The policy of investing resource revenues in reproducible capital suggests irresistibly that some appropriately defined stock is being maintained intact, and that consumption can be regarded as the "interest" on that stock (Solow 1986). Since the discovery of oil and...

An oil fund for Guyana – the role of fiscal institutions

Guyana has been blessed with an abundance of energy resources. For the next 40 years our economy will become a major producer of oil and gas. Hydrocarbons development is at the heart of Guyana’s future prosperity and a cornerstone...

Structural approach to maximizing Local Content Development: national benefits for an emerging petroleum-producing country

Initial efforts on local content have already contributed to the emerging oil sector transformation in Guyana. This can be seen from the first set of investment activities that are currently occurring with the establishment of new business frontiers, since...

Latest News

Guyana’s safety culture is improving, but the work must continue

Dear Editor, Guyana’s safety culture is gradually shifting for the better, and I don’t say that lightly. It is no...