Avoid resource curse through Permanent Funds – Brookings

The Brookings Institute has recommended that US states Pennsylvania and Ohio establish Permanent Funds from their taxes from oil & gas fracking. This is similar to our proposal relating to the Goenchi Mati Permanent Fund.

Devashree Saha & Mark Muro in their report titled “Permanent trust funds: Funding economic change with fracking revenues” advance five elements of good fund governance and management that states should consider in the design and implementation of permanent trust funds:

  • Establish an effective governance framework
  • Define the fund’s revenue source, deposit, and withdrawal rules
  • Design the investment strategy
  • Seize the opportunity to invest fund earnings to economic transformation
  • Formulate explicit disclosure and transparency standards

We would need to consider all five elements in structuring our Permanent Fund. Download the Brookings Institute Report & Appendix.