Introduction
My aim has been in recent columns to lay out carefully the economic rationale in support of the proposition that, if Guyana’s coming oil and gas extraction industry is to play a transformative role in its economic development, then the dynamic integration of whatever economic benefits are derived from the industry into other economic sectors is essential. Indeed, it is my further intention to argue that if sustainable development for Guyana as a whole (along with the promotion of a ‘green state’) is the main vision or goal, then that grander outcome is critically dependent on transforming the stereotypical operational configuration of oil and gas industries found in Guyana-type economies.
This is the reasoning that lies behind my earlier discussions, which focused on such notions as 1) the enclave economy that in Guyana-type economies typifies the outcomes of oil and gas extraction industries; 2) infant industry, and its rationale in today’s global environment; and 3) local content policy requirements (LCRs), which despite all protestations, remain priority policy prescriptions for all regions and economies, whether
