Commodity wealth demands a fiscal balancing act M. Ayhan KoseGarima Vasishtha August 12, 2026 This page in: English

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/commodity-wealth-demands-a-fiscal-balancing-act?cid=ECR_E_NewsletterWeekly_EN_EXT&deliveryName=DM287537 Commodity booms are easy to celebrate but hard to manage. For resource-rich economies, commodity windfalls—if managed well—can finance investment, strengthen public finances and lift growth (Figure 1A). Poorly managed, they can trigger a spending spree that leads to higher debt, rising inflation and an eventual bust. Whether a boom delivers lasting gains or sets the stage for the next bust depends critically on how fiscal policy is managed.