IMF Fin&Dev: Sharing the Wealth

In last month's IMF publication Finance and Development, IMF Economists Sanjeev Gupta [sanjeevguptadocs.com], Alex Segura-Ubiergo [repec.org], and Enrique Flores [imf.org] wrote a piece on

Sharing the wealth

Countries that enjoy a resource windfall should be prudent about distributing it all directly to their people. The experience of the success stories suggests that natural resource wealth management requires a commitment to three interrelated principles: fiscal transparency, a rules-based fiscal policy, and strong institutions for public financial management. Some suggest that governments should give up their resource revenue and distribute it directly to the population. There are some good arguments to support this view—and strong arguments against it. Direct distribution is not a silver bullet. 

The article is a general audience edition of a discussion paper of them: Direct Distribution of Resource Revenues: Worth Considering? [imf.org pdf]