Mauritania : Counting on Natural Wealth for a Sustainable Future

Mauritania : Counting on Natural Wealth for a Sustainable Future

A data set of key macro-sustainability indicators, constructed after several fact-finding missions, and World Bank methodologies on estimating wealth accounting are used to study Mauritania's wealth, which is estimated to be between USD50 and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Mele, Gianluca
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2014
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING ACCOUNTING PERIOD ACCOUNTING RULES AFFILIATE AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS AGRICULTURE ARREARS ASSET VALUES ASSETS BALANCE SHEET BALANCE SHEETS CAPITAL ASSETS CAPITAL EXPENDITURES CAPITAL INVESTMENT CAPITAL INVESTMENTS CAPITAL MARKETS CAPITAL STOCK CASH TRANSFERS COMMODITIES COMMODITY COMMODITY PRICES COMPETITIVENESS CONNECTIVITY CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE CONSUMPTION FUNCTION CONSUMPTION INCREASES CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY COST OF CAPITAL CURRENCY CURRENCY UNITS CURRENT EXPENDITURES CURRENT PRICES DAMAGES DATA AVAILABILITY DEBT DEBT LEVELS DECISION MAKING DEMOGRAPHIC DEPOSITS DERIVATIVES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING ECONOMIES DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES DIMINISHING RETURNS DISCOUNT RATE DISPOSABLE INCOME DOMESTIC INVESTMENT DURABLES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC RESEARCH ECONOMIC SECTORS EFFICIENT CAPITAL EFFICIENT CAPITAL MARKETS ELASTICITY EMPLOYMENT ENERGY EXPORTS ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS EQUIPMENT EXCHANGE RATE EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES EXPORTER EXPORTERS EXPORTS EXTERNAL DEBT FERTILITY RATE FINANCIAL ASSETS FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FISCAL DEFICIT FISCAL POLICIES FISCAL POLICY FIXED CAPITAL FIXED COSTS FOOD PRICES FOREIGN ASSETS FOREIGN COMPANIES FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FOREIGN INVESTORS FUTURE GROWTH FUTURE PRICES GDP GDP DEFLATOR GDP PER CAPITA GOVERNMENT SPENDING GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT GROSS FIXED CAPITAL FORMATION GROSS NATIONAL SAVINGS GROSS SALES GROWTH POTENTIAL GROWTH RATE GROWTH RATES HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT HUMAN RESOURCES INCOME INCOMES INFLATION INFLATION RATE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS INTANGIBLE INTERNATIONAL BANK INTERNATIONAL FIRMS INTERNATIONAL RESERVES INTERNATIONAL TRADE INVESTING INVESTMENT CAPITAL INVESTMENT POLICIES INVESTMENT PROJECTS ITC JOB CREATION JOINT VENTURE LABOR COSTS LAND AS COLLATERAL LAND USE LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE LIABILITY LIQUIDITY LOCAL CURRENCY LONG-TERM COST LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES MACROECONOMIC ANALYSIS MACROECONOMIC CONTEXT MACROECONOMIC MANAGEMENT MACROECONOMIC POLICIES MARGINAL UTILITY MARGINAL UTILITY OF CONSUMPTION MARKET SHARE MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES MISMANAGEMENT MONETARY FUND MONOPOLY NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT NATIONAL INCOME NATIONAL SAVING NATURAL CAPITAL NATURAL RESOURCE NATURAL RESOURCES NET FOREIGN ASSETS NET SAVINGS NPV OIL PRICES OIL RESERVES OPERATING COSTS OPPORTUNITY COST OPPORTUNITY COSTS OUTPUT PERMANENT INCOME PERMANENT INCOME HYPOTHESIS POLICY CREDIBILITY POLITICAL ECONOMY POLLUTION PRESENT VALUE PRICE VOLATILITY PRIVATE CAPITAL PRIVATE CAPITAL STOCKS PRIVATE INVESTMENT PRODUCTION COSTS PRODUCTIVE CAPITAL PRODUCTIVITY PROFIT MARGIN PROPERTY RIGHTS PUBLIC AGENCIES PUBLIC DEBT PUBLIC EXPENDITURES PUBLIC INVESTMENT PUBLIC INVESTMENTS PUBLIC POLICIES PUBLIC SPENDING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP RAPID EXPANSION RATE OF RETURN RE-INVESTMENT REAL GDP REAL PROPERTY REINVESTMENT RENTS RESERVE RESERVES RETURN SAFETY NETS SAVINGS SAVINGS RATE SAVINGS RATES SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL SAFETY NETS STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE GROWTH TAX TAX ADMINISTRATION TAX REVENUE TAX REVENUES TOTAL COSTS TOTAL REVENUE TRADE BALANCE TRANSPARENCY TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE UTILITY FUNCTION VALUATION VARIABLE COST WAGES WEALTH WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS WORLD MARKET
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/05/19553476/mauritania-counting-natural-wealth-sustainable-future http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18798

Description
Summary:	A data set of key macro-sustainability indicators, constructed after several fact-finding missions, and World Bank methodologies on estimating wealth accounting are used to study Mauritania's wealth, which is estimated to be between USD50 and USD60 billion. The country's produced wealth represents roughly 12 percent of total wealth, much less than in lower-middle-income countries; by contrast, natural wealth represents approximately 45 percent of the total figure. Renewable resources account for slightly less than two-thirds of natural wealth, with fisheries alone equaling about one-fourth of natural wealth. This is good news for Mauritania, as sound management of these resources may ensure a constant flow of resources in the future and therefore -- with adequate policies -- the achievement of the same or higher levels of welfare for future generations. On the negative side, however, the ratio of net adjusted savings over gross national income is estimated to have been negative since 2006, meaning that the wealth of the country is being depleted. Mauritania has recently joined the ranks of lower-middle-income countries, largely thanks to its considerable natural resources endowment. Over time the mining sector's contribution to gross domestic product has grown significantly and important discoveries continue to be made. The overarching objective of this wealth accounting exercise is thus to support Mauritania to measure its assets better and achieve a more complete picture of the prospects for future income, with a view to better orienting public policies toward sustainable growth and shared prosperity. The paper concludes with several indicative policy recommendations.

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