Publication
Could resource rents finance universal access to infrastructure? A first exploration of needs and rents
Narasimha Rao and 5 other contributors
On This Page
DEC
Citation
Fuss, S. ., Chen, C. ., Jakob, M. ., Marxen, A. ., Rao, N. ., & Edenhofer, O. . (2016). Could resource rents finance universal access to infrastructure? A first exploration of needs and rents. ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, 21(6), 691-712. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X16000139 (Original work published 2024)
Abstract
It is often argued that, ethically, resource rents should accrue to all citizens. Yet, in reality, the rents from exploiting national resources are often concentrated in the hands of a few. If resource rents were to be taxed, on the other hand, substantial amounts of public money could be raised and used to cover the population's infrastructure needs, such as access to electricity, water, sanitation, communication technology and roads, which all play important roles in a nation's economic development process. Here, the authors examine to what extent existing resource rents could be used to provide universal access to these infrastructures.