Better designed and implemented fiscal regimes for oil, gas, and mining can make a substantial contribution to the revenue needs of many developing countries while ensuring an attractive return for investors, according to a new policy paper from the International Monetary Fund. Revenues from extractive industries (EIs) have major macroeconomic implications. The EIs account for over half of government revenues in many petroleum-rich countries, and for over 20 percent in mining countries. About one-third of IMF member countries find (or could find) resource revenues “macro-critical” – especially with large numbers of recent new discoveries and planned oil, gas, and mining developments. IMF policy advice and technical assistance in the field has massively expanded in recent years – driven by demand from member countries and supported by increased donor finance. The paper sets out the analytical framework underpinning, and key elements of, the country-specific advice given. Also available in Arabic: ????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????????: ??????? ???????? Also available in French: Régimes fiscaux des industries extractives: conception et application Also available in Spanish: Regímenes fiscales de las industrias extractivas: Diseño y aplicación

Policy failures in environment and development have been blamed on frag mented and eclectic policies and strategies. The 1992 United Nations Con ference on Environment and Development, the 'Earth Summit' in Rio de Janeiro, called therefore for an integrated approach in planning and policy making to achieve long-term sustainable growth and development. The Con ference also recognized in its action plan, the Agenda 21, that integrated poli cies need to be supported by integrated information, notably requiring the implementation of integrated environmental and economic accounting by its member States. During the preparations for the Rio Summit, scientists and practitioners of national accounting met in a Special Conference on Environmental Account ing, organized by the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW) in Baden, Austria. Their aim was to explore the need for and methodologies of adjusting national accounts for environmental reasons. National accountants had faced mounting criticism that conventional accounting neglected new scarcities in natural capital, as well as the social cost of environmental degradation. The result of their deliberations was a draft manual, later issued by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) as a handbook of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting.

As an essential component for economic growth, energy has a significant impact on the global economy. The need to meet growing energy demand has prompted cutting-edge innovation in clean technology in an attempt to realise environmental and cost objectives, whilst ensuring the security of energy supply. This Handbook offers a comprehensive review of the economics of energy, including contributions from a distinguished array of international specialists. It provides a thorough discussion of the major research issues in this topical field of economics. Themes addressed include the theory of energy supply, demand and policy, empirical modelling of energy demand, holistic energy models, an analysis of coal, gas, electricity, oil and the markets within which they operate, and a discussion of the current key energy policy issues. The topics of pricing, transmission, regulation, security, energy efficiency, new technologies and climate change are also discussed. The International Handbook on the Economics of Energy presents a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art research making it an indispensable reference for researchers, advanced students, practitioners and policy-makers alike.