Virtual Course on Macroeconomic Management in Resource-Rich Countries

From November 29 to December 10, 2021, an IMF virtual course on Macroeconomic Management in Resource-Rich Countries (MRC) was delivered at the JVI. As usual, the course attracted strong interest from officials in commodity-exporting countries in the JVI region. Twelve participants from central banks and ministries representing eight countries attended the course.

The course program focuses on economic policies targeted at decoupling economic developments in resource-rich countries from highly volatile resource price dynamics. Fiscal policy and its central role in achieving this task are at the core of the MRC course. The fiscal block is complemented by the monetary policy segment. Indeed, the role of monetary policy in resource-rich countries has increased with the gradual switch to more flexible exchange rate regimes over the last decade. The course also covers some long-term policies of a more structural nature, like diversification efforts aimed at overcoming the resource curse. 

The course also zoomed in on a number of climate-related topics that are becoming increasingly important for commodity producers. Long-term risks for fossil fuels demand amid energy transition have started to receive particular attention in macroeconomic stress-testing exercises in resource-rich countries. Sovereign wealth funds, which are often created in resource-rich countries, are gradually strengthening their decarbonization efforts and broadening their mandate to support long-term sustainable development. These and other climate-related issues were actively discussed with the course participants and will remain key areas for further MRC course development in the coming years.

The course was highly interactive, with participants presenting homework on fiscal rules, long-term fiscal benchmarks, diversification indicators and policy coordination case studies. Online Jeopardy games helped to create engagement and to increase learning gains. The course benefited from simultaneous interpretation into Russian. The participants could also use the materials of an online MRC course on edX platform, which also became available in Russian starting from 2021.

The next delivery of the MRC course will take place on September 19-30, 2022.

Tatiana Evdokimova, Economist, Joint Vienna Institute