Accounting for natural resources in Ecuador : contrasting methodologies, conflicting results
Kellenberg, John
This study examines natural capital depletion in Ecuador from 1971 to 1990, corresponding with an oil boom in the 1970s followed by economic stagnation in the 1980s. Two natural resource accounting (NRA) methodologies are utilized to measure the economic value of natural capital depletion in the petroleum sector. The Depreciation Method adjusts national income to reflect the change in economic value of natural capital which occurs during each accounting period. The User Cost Method splits the revenue from the sale of an exhaustible resource into a capital element, or "user cost", and a value-added element, representing true income. This paper is set out in four parts. Section 2 examines Ecuador's macroeconomic performance from 1971 to 1990. Section 3 calculates the value of natural capital depletion in Ecuador's petroleum sector. Section 4 incorporates the economic value of natural capital depletion into the nation's macroeconomic accounts and offers indicators of environmentally sustainable development. Section 5 addresses policy implications related to the depletion of Ecuador's oil reserves.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by World Bank
