Burma Needs Sovereign Wealth Fund: Stiglitz

7 June 2012

Former World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz said Burma should secure the revenue accumulated through its oil and natural gas sales into a sovereign wealth fund to avoid the “resources curse” and distribute wealth more equitably. “Many countries with large natural resources have not done well … in terms of growth, equity, poverty reduction,” the Nobel prize-winning economist said in an interview with CNBC. “[W]e’ve studied the causes and what can be done about it,” he added, suggesting that the fund could also be used to stabilize exchange rates.