Oil to Cash: Fighting the Resource Curse Through Cash Transfers

The “oil to cash” concept is a policy option to help oil-producing countries avoid the so-called resource curse by giving oil revenues directly to citizens. A universal, transparent and regular cash transfer would not only provide a concrete benefit to citizens but would also create powerful incentives for them to hold their government accountable.

At this event, Todd Moss, co-author of the book “Oil to Cash: Fighting the Resource Curse Through Cash Transfers,” explored the idea and its applicability. Francisco J. Monaldi, Baker Institute fellow in Latin American energy policy, discussed its implementation in the Venezuelan context.

This event was sponsored by the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies.

Join the conversation online with #BakerOil.

Featured Speaker

Todd Moss is chief operating officer and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. His research focuses on U.S.-Africa relations, energy policy and private investment. Moss is currently working on electrification in Africa, cash transfers in new oil economies, and ideas for upgrading U.S. development policy. He previously led the center’s work on Nigerian debt, Zimbabwe, the future of the World Bank’s International Development Association and the African Development Bank. While on leave from the CGD in 2007 and 2008, Moss served as deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureauof African Affairs. Prior to joining the CGD in 2003, Moss worked at the World Bank, serving as an advisor to the chief economist in the Africa Region. He has been a lecturer at the London School of Economics and previously worked at the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Overseas Cooperative Development Council. Moss is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the author of numerous articles and books, including “Adventure Capitalism: Globalization and the Political Economy of Stock Markets in Africa” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), “African Development: Making Sense of the Issues and Actors” (Lynne Rienner, 2nd ed., 2011), and “Oil to Cash: Fighting the Resource Curse with Cash Transfers” (CGD, 2015). Moss is also the author of an international thriller series published by Penguin’s Putnam imprint about a State Department crisis manager that includes the books “The Golden Hour” (2014), “Minute Zero” (2015) and Ghosts of Havana (2016).