Commodities Cycle Archive

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of falling oil and commodities prices on resource-exporting countries. Last week, the prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), proposed a new budget that included cutting government spending by 30 percent in a bid to avoid hyperinflation, as the economy continues to suffer from low global commodities prices. In an email interview Yvan Yenda Ilunga, a doctoral student in the division of global affairs at Rutgers University, discussed the effect of declining revenues from commodities on the DRC’s economy. WPR: How important are commodities […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the impact of falling oil and commodities prices on resource-exporting countries. Last week at a mining industry event, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet gave a speech about the need for Chile to create a “post-copper economy.” In an email interview, Leonardo Letelier, the director of the Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Chile, discussed the impact of the commodities bust on Chile’s economy. WPR: How important are commodities for Chile’s economy, and what impact have falling commodities prices had on the economy and in turn domestic politics? […]