What Happens When a Country Does Not Adjust to Terms of Trade Shocks? The Case of Oil-Rich Gabon
Gabon is currently one of the richest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, having a GDP per capita of close to $4,000, and is characterized by a stable political climate and rich forestry and mineral resources, as well as a small population. Oil is the...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, D.C.
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/09/5166787/happens-country-not-adjust-terms-trade-shocks-case-oil-rich-gabon http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14245 |
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okr-10986-14245 |
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| recordtype |
oai_dc |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
ACCOUNT ACCOUNTING ACCOUNTS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES AGRICULTURE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BALANCE OF PAYMENTS DEFICIT BORROWING CAPITAL FLOWS CAPITAL GOODS CENTRAL BANK CENTRAL BANKS COMMERCIAL BANKS COMPETITIVENESS CURRENCY DEBT DEBT RELIEF DEBT RESCHEDULING DEFLATION DEVALUATION DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISEQUILIBRIUM DIVERSIFICATION DRINKING WATER DUTCH DISEASE ECONOMIC CHANGE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC INTEGRATION ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ECONOMIC STRUCTURES ECOSYSTEMS ELASTICITY EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EMPIRICAL WORK EMPLOYMENT EURO EXCHANGE RATE EXCHANGE RATE APPRECIATION EXCHANGE RATE DEPRECIATION EXCHANGE RATE POLICIES EXCHANGE RATE POLICY EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES EXCHANGE RATE VARIABILITY EXCHANGE RATES EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES EXPORT GROWTH EXPORTS EXTERNAL DEBT EXTREME POVERTY FINANCIAL MARKET FINANCIAL MARKET VOLATILITY FINANCIAL SECTOR FISCAL ADJUSTMENTS FISCAL MANAGEMENT FISCAL POLICY FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATES FOREIGN CAPITAL FOREIGN CURRENCY FOREIGN EXCHANGE FOREIGN INVESTMENT FORESTRY FORESTRY SECTOR GDP GDP PER CAPITA GLOBALIZATION GNP GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES GROWTH RATE IMPORTS INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME ELASTICITY INFLATION INTEREST PAYMENTS INTEREST RATE INTEREST RATE CHANGES INTEREST RATES INTERNATIONAL DONORS INTERNATIONAL TRADE LABOR COSTS LEGISLATION MACROECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE MACROECONOMIC POLICIES MACROECONOMIC SHOCKS MACROECONOMIC STABILITY MANGANESE MARKET PRICES METHODOLOGY MINING MONETARY POLICIES MONETARY POLICY MONETARY REGIME MONETARY UNION NATURAL RESOURCES OIL OIL PRICES OIL RESERVES OIL SECTOR OPEC OPEN ECONOMIES OUTPUT PETROLEUM POLICY INSTRUMENT POLICY INSTRUMENTS POLITICAL ECONOMY POOLS PRESENT VALUE PRICE INCREASES PRODUCTION COSTS PROFIT MAXIMIZATION PROSPECTING PUBLIC FINANCE PUBLIC INVESTMENT REAL EXCHANGE RATE REAL GDP ROYALTIES SAVINGS STABILIZATION TAX REVENUE TAX REVENUES TERMS OF TRADE TIMBER TRANSACTIONS COSTS TREASURY UNCERTAINTY URBAN AREAS UTILITY MAXIMIZATION VULNERABILITY WAGES WEALTH |
| spellingShingle |
ACCOUNT ACCOUNTING ACCOUNTS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES AGRICULTURE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BALANCE OF PAYMENTS DEFICIT BORROWING CAPITAL FLOWS CAPITAL GOODS CENTRAL BANK CENTRAL BANKS COMMERCIAL BANKS COMPETITIVENESS CURRENCY DEBT DEBT RELIEF DEBT RESCHEDULING DEFLATION DEVALUATION DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISEQUILIBRIUM DIVERSIFICATION DRINKING WATER DUTCH DISEASE ECONOMIC CHANGE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC INTEGRATION ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ECONOMIC STRUCTURES ECOSYSTEMS ELASTICITY EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EMPIRICAL WORK EMPLOYMENT EURO EXCHANGE RATE EXCHANGE RATE APPRECIATION EXCHANGE RATE DEPRECIATION EXCHANGE RATE POLICIES EXCHANGE RATE POLICY EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES EXCHANGE RATE VARIABILITY EXCHANGE RATES EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES EXPORT GROWTH EXPORTS EXTERNAL DEBT EXTREME POVERTY FINANCIAL MARKET FINANCIAL MARKET VOLATILITY FINANCIAL SECTOR FISCAL ADJUSTMENTS FISCAL MANAGEMENT FISCAL POLICY FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATES FOREIGN CAPITAL FOREIGN CURRENCY FOREIGN EXCHANGE FOREIGN INVESTMENT FORESTRY FORESTRY SECTOR GDP GDP PER CAPITA GLOBALIZATION GNP GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES GROWTH RATE IMPORTS INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME ELASTICITY INFLATION INTEREST PAYMENTS INTEREST RATE INTEREST RATE CHANGES INTEREST RATES INTERNATIONAL DONORS INTERNATIONAL TRADE LABOR COSTS LEGISLATION MACROECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE MACROECONOMIC POLICIES MACROECONOMIC SHOCKS MACROECONOMIC STABILITY MANGANESE MARKET PRICES METHODOLOGY MINING MONETARY POLICIES MONETARY POLICY MONETARY REGIME MONETARY UNION NATURAL RESOURCES OIL OIL PRICES OIL RESERVES OIL SECTOR OPEC OPEN ECONOMIES OUTPUT PETROLEUM POLICY INSTRUMENT POLICY INSTRUMENTS POLITICAL ECONOMY POOLS PRESENT VALUE PRICE INCREASES PRODUCTION COSTS PROFIT MAXIMIZATION PROSPECTING PUBLIC FINANCE PUBLIC INVESTMENT REAL EXCHANGE RATE REAL GDP ROYALTIES SAVINGS STABILIZATION TAX REVENUE TAX REVENUES TERMS OF TRADE TIMBER TRANSACTIONS COSTS TREASURY UNCERTAINTY URBAN AREAS UTILITY MAXIMIZATION VULNERABILITY WAGES WEALTH Zafar, Ali What Happens When a Country Does Not Adjust to Terms of Trade Shocks? The Case of Oil-Rich Gabon |
| geographic_facet |
Africa Gabon |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No.3403 |
| description |
Gabon is currently one of the richest
countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, having a GDP per capita of
close to $4,000, and is characterized by a stable political
climate and rich forestry and mineral resources, as well as
a small population. Oil is the key economic sector,
accounting for half of GDP and more than two-thirds of
revenue. Discovered in the 1970s, oil windfalls have
delivered spectacular wealth and financed public expenditure
over two decades. However, the oil boom has led to the Dutch
disease and the shrinkage of the industrial and agricultural
sectors of the economy due to the appreciation of the
exchange rate and the movement of capital to the oil sector.
But with output projections suggesting that oil will be
depleted within the next 10 to 15 years, there are growing
pressures on the policymakers to take actions to diversify
production. While Gabon's membership in the Central
African economic and monetary union means that it benefits
from the macroeconomic stability from a common external
trade and fixed exchange rate regime pegged to the euro, it
relinquishes independence in the policy response to shocks.
An analysis using a quantitative methodology to decompose
responses to shocks shows that Gabon's adjustment to
adverse movements in the terms and trade from 1980 to 2000
was considerably weak in terms of three performance
indicators-import intensity, economic compression, and
nonoil export promotion. While the economy's growth
rate was respectable, policymakers postponed adjustment by
resorting to considerable borrowing during this period.
While there was some decrease in import intensity from 1987
to 1990 and 1996 to 2000, as well as slight non-oil export
diversification from 1996 to 2000, the government borrowed
from commercial banks and donors, causing its external
debt/GDP ratio to increase from 30 percent of GDP in 1970-76
to 80 percent in 1999. To pay the debt service, it currently
has to maintain large primary surpluses. Only since 1996 has
there been significant fiscal retrenchment and a freezing of
government wages. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Zafar, Ali |
| author_facet |
Zafar, Ali |
| author_sort |
Zafar, Ali |
| title |
What Happens When a Country Does Not Adjust to Terms of Trade Shocks? The Case of Oil-Rich Gabon |
| title_short |
What Happens When a Country Does Not Adjust to Terms of Trade Shocks? The Case of Oil-Rich Gabon |
| title_full |
What Happens When a Country Does Not Adjust to Terms of Trade Shocks? The Case of Oil-Rich Gabon |
| title_fullStr |
What Happens When a Country Does Not Adjust to Terms of Trade Shocks? The Case of Oil-Rich Gabon |
| title_full_unstemmed |
What Happens When a Country Does Not Adjust to Terms of Trade Shocks? The Case of Oil-Rich Gabon |
| title_sort |
what happens when a country does not adjust to terms of trade shocks? the case of oil-rich gabon |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, D.C. |
| publishDate |
2013 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/09/5166787/happens-country-not-adjust-terms-trade-shocks-case-oil-rich-gabon http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14245 |
| _version_ |
1764430697319104512 |
| spelling |
okr-10986-142452021-04-23T14:03:21Z What Happens When a Country Does Not Adjust to Terms of Trade Shocks? The Case of Oil-Rich Gabon Zafar, Ali ACCOUNT ACCOUNTING ACCOUNTS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES AGRICULTURE BALANCE OF PAYMENTS BALANCE OF PAYMENTS DEFICIT BORROWING CAPITAL FLOWS CAPITAL GOODS CENTRAL BANK CENTRAL BANKS COMMERCIAL BANKS COMPETITIVENESS CURRENCY DEBT DEBT RELIEF DEBT RESCHEDULING DEFLATION DEVALUATION DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISEQUILIBRIUM DIVERSIFICATION DRINKING WATER DUTCH DISEASE ECONOMIC CHANGE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC INTEGRATION ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ECONOMIC STRUCTURES ECOSYSTEMS ELASTICITY EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EMPIRICAL WORK EMPLOYMENT EURO EXCHANGE RATE EXCHANGE RATE APPRECIATION EXCHANGE RATE DEPRECIATION EXCHANGE RATE POLICIES EXCHANGE RATE POLICY EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES EXCHANGE RATE VARIABILITY EXCHANGE RATES EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES EXPORT GROWTH EXPORTS EXTERNAL DEBT EXTREME POVERTY FINANCIAL MARKET FINANCIAL MARKET VOLATILITY FINANCIAL SECTOR FISCAL ADJUSTMENTS FISCAL MANAGEMENT FISCAL POLICY FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE RATES FOREIGN CAPITAL FOREIGN CURRENCY FOREIGN EXCHANGE FOREIGN INVESTMENT FORESTRY FORESTRY SECTOR GDP GDP PER CAPITA GLOBALIZATION GNP GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES GROWTH RATE IMPORTS INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME ELASTICITY INFLATION INTEREST PAYMENTS INTEREST RATE INTEREST RATE CHANGES INTEREST RATES INTERNATIONAL DONORS INTERNATIONAL TRADE LABOR COSTS LEGISLATION MACROECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE MACROECONOMIC POLICIES MACROECONOMIC SHOCKS MACROECONOMIC STABILITY MANGANESE MARKET PRICES METHODOLOGY MINING MONETARY POLICIES MONETARY POLICY MONETARY REGIME MONETARY UNION NATURAL RESOURCES OIL OIL PRICES OIL RESERVES OIL SECTOR OPEC OPEN ECONOMIES OUTPUT PETROLEUM POLICY INSTRUMENT POLICY INSTRUMENTS POLITICAL ECONOMY POOLS PRESENT VALUE PRICE INCREASES PRODUCTION COSTS PROFIT MAXIMIZATION PROSPECTING PUBLIC FINANCE PUBLIC INVESTMENT REAL EXCHANGE RATE REAL GDP ROYALTIES SAVINGS STABILIZATION TAX REVENUE TAX REVENUES TERMS OF TRADE TIMBER TRANSACTIONS COSTS TREASURY UNCERTAINTY URBAN AREAS UTILITY MAXIMIZATION VULNERABILITY WAGES WEALTH Gabon is currently one of the richest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, having a GDP per capita of close to $4,000, and is characterized by a stable political climate and rich forestry and mineral resources, as well as a small population. Oil is the key economic sector, accounting for half of GDP and more than two-thirds of revenue. Discovered in the 1970s, oil windfalls have delivered spectacular wealth and financed public expenditure over two decades. However, the oil boom has led to the Dutch disease and the shrinkage of the industrial and agricultural sectors of the economy due to the appreciation of the exchange rate and the movement of capital to the oil sector. But with output projections suggesting that oil will be depleted within the next 10 to 15 years, there are growing pressures on the policymakers to take actions to diversify production. While Gabon's membership in the Central African economic and monetary union means that it benefits from the macroeconomic stability from a common external trade and fixed exchange rate regime pegged to the euro, it relinquishes independence in the policy response to shocks. An analysis using a quantitative methodology to decompose responses to shocks shows that Gabon's adjustment to adverse movements in the terms and trade from 1980 to 2000 was considerably weak in terms of three performance indicators-import intensity, economic compression, and nonoil export promotion. While the economy's growth rate was respectable, policymakers postponed adjustment by resorting to considerable borrowing during this period. While there was some decrease in import intensity from 1987 to 1990 and 1996 to 2000, as well as slight non-oil export diversification from 1996 to 2000, the government borrowed from commercial banks and donors, causing its external debt/GDP ratio to increase from 30 percent of GDP in 1970-76 to 80 percent in 1999. To pay the debt service, it currently has to maintain large primary surpluses. Only since 1996 has there been significant fiscal retrenchment and a freezing of government wages. 2013-06-27T18:16:39Z 2013-06-27T18:16:39Z 2004-09-01 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/09/5166787/happens-country-not-adjust-terms-trade-shocks-case-oil-rich-gabon http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14245 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No.3403 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, D.C. Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Africa Gabon |