Investigates the complex relationship that Alaska has with its most precious commodity - oil - and with the corporations that bring that oil to market. This book explores the dynamic balance between the power of a subnational government and the ability of Big Oil to develop energy resources, affect the state economy, and influence state policies.

A new paper edition of the state's history, which focuses on Russian America and American Alaska.

Presents a history of the Alaskan oil industry, revealing political corruption, the FBI's investigation, and how these events will influence American politics.

Politics in Alaska have changed significantly since the last major book on the subject was published more than twenty years ago, with the rise and fall of Sarah Palin and the rise and fall of oil prices being but two of the many developments to alter the political landscape. This book, the most comprehensive on the subject to date, focuses on the question of how beliefs, institutions, personalities, and power interact to shape Alaska politics and public policy. Drawing on these interactions, the contributors explain how and why certain issues get dealt with successfully and others unsuccessfully, and why some issues are taken up quickly while others are not addressed at all. This comprehensive guide to the political climate of Alaska will be essential to anyone studying the politics of America’s largest—and in some ways most unusual—state.

Does Alaska's reliance on oil and gas mean that it inevitably will be controlled by corporate energy interests? Or can the state use its vast resource holdings to manage a more symmetrical partnership? The Political Economy of Oil in Alaska investigates the complex relationship Alaska has with its most precious commodity. Offering a new perspective on the challenges of oil-dependent development, the authors explore the dynamic balance between the power of a subnational government--as the owner of resources, possessor of fiscal authority, and regulator of safety and environmental conditions--and the ability of Big Oil to develop energy resources, affect the state economy, and influence state policies. The result is a comprehensive study of an often contentious alliance.

Oil to Cash explores one option to help countries with new oil revenue avoid the so-called resource curse: just give the money directly to citizens. A universal, transparent, and regular cash transfer would not only provide a concrete benefit to regular people, but would also create powerful incentives for citizens to hold their government accountable. Oil to Cash details how and where this idea could work and how policymakers can learn from the experiences with cash transfers in places like Mexico, Mongolia, and Alaska.

Paul Sabin offers a study of the oil market in California before World War II, showing how the development of an economy & society very heavily dependent upon oil production & consumption was largely directed by policy decisions regarding property rights, regulatory law & public investment.