This paper, from the World Bank's Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) note series, discusses the impact of high commodity prices on development strategies, and in particular, attempts to answer the following four questions: (i) How dependent are developing countries on primary commodity exports? (ii) What is the outlook for primary commodity prices?, (iii) Is there a natural resource “curse” (or blessing)?, and (iv) What policies can help poor countries best manage commodity resources for long-run development?
