This paper analyses the risks facing resource-dependent countries. These include: (i) economic mismanagement (the 'resource curse'); (ii) political mismanagement; (iii) environmental damage (climate change and the destruction of natural capital). It distinguishes 'risk' (which can be addressed...

Energy plays a vital role in the development of any economy and given its unequal distribution trade in energy, especially fossil fuels, is an important component of international trade. In the past, due to its public good characteristics, energy-related services were mostly supplied by the...

This survey of recent developments includes reports updating continuing controversies regarding foreign poaching in Australian fisheries and whaling in the Southern Ocean, as well as significant changes to Australian policy and procedure regarding illegal immigration by sea. Among the cases...

One of the more remarkable properties of commodity markets is the capability of their nominal prices to be negative numbers. This flexibility to violate the zero bound can appear in outright flat prices, spreads, and net unit costs. The principal driver is typically overwhelming supply relative...

In assessing drivers of commodity prices and volatility at this stage of the current super-cycle in commodities (year 12 of a projected 25), it is vital to understand that production cost is a fundamental. Moreover, marginal production costs are among the most powerful drivers of commodity...

Petroleum complex is Russia's basic economic sector which is playing a leading role in providing the state budget revenues. This paper is dedicated to the main issues of the government petroleum tax policy in Russia. The author analyses the outcome of the implemented petroleum tax reform and...

Oil and gas sector remains the backbone of the Russian economy and produces the lion's share of the state budget revenues and of the trade balance. Acute oil price fluctuations which took place on the free market, reduction in demand for gas, as well as objective fall in the oil and gas...

This paper is about the bane of the Russian economy: rich oil and gas reserves, which hamper the implementation of structural economic reforms. Oil industry forms the backbone of the Russian economy playing a major role in ensuring revenues of the government budget and the country's favorable...

The oil-and-gas sector has continued being the cornerstone to Russia's economy and as such it plays a pivotal role in forming the state budget revenue and the nation's balance of trade. In 2010, it was the situation in the global oil market, the one in the European gas market, and an objective...