Sudden Prosperity

“Mongolia’s billions of dollars worth of copper, gold, uranium and coal reserves promise the greatest influx of wealth for the country since Genghis Khan conquered much of the known world in the 13th century.

“They also may spawn a crisis. Sudden prosperity can overwhelm an economy, exposing it to commodity-price swings. Mongolia’s leaders say they are determined to avoid a sudden surge in wealth that ultimately hampers expansion....

“'If you go to most developing countries, they’ll tell you, “We’re saved; we’ve found uranium,”' said Hernando de Soto, a Peruvian free-market economist. Mongolia has 'a president who says, “We are in grave danger because we have discovered we have a lot of natural resources.”' The fact that 'they are forewarned gives you hope.'”


--Michael Forsythe, Bloomberg.com, 2010 February 15