Category Archives: Economics

Norwegian Wealth

Posted on September 22, 2017 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes One of my all-time favourite authors is 村上春樹. He rose to fame initially with his book, Norwegian Wood (ノルウェイの森). That was a reference to a Beatles song, of course. And thus the title of this post, combining literature, … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Development, EITI, Governance, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy, Politics, Public Policy, Public Service, Sovereign Wealth Fund | Tagged | 1 Comment

What are Voters Looking For?

Posted on May 17, 2017 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes The campaign for the Mongolian presidency has not entered its hot phase yet but candidates have been confirmed. When Enkhbold M (MPP) and Battulga Kh (DP) were selected, I already reflected on them, another post focused on … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Democratic Party, Elections, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Policy, Politics, Presidential 2017, Public Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Negative Income Tax I – Redistribution in Expanding Economies

Posted on May 16, 2017 by JDierkes

By Ulrich Andree Note: This is the first of three articles. For the extended original article see LinkedIn. The forthcoming posts will focus on (dis)advantages of a negative income tax, and on the implementation of a negative income tax in … Continue reading →

Posted in Demography, Development, Economics, Policy, Public Policy, Public Service, Social Change, Social Issues, Taxes, Ullrich Andree | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Negative Income Tax II – Advantages and Disadvantages

Posted on May 16, 2017 by JDierkes

By Ulrich Andree Note: This is the second of three articles. For the extended original article see LinkedIn. The previous post focused on redistribution and the concept of an NIT. The final article will focus on the implementation of an NIT … Continue reading →

Posted in Demography, Development, Economics, Health, Inequality, Policy, Public Policy, Public Service, Social Change, Social Issues, Taxes, Ullrich Andree | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Erdenet Update 100%, Again Contested

Posted on April 13, 2017 by JDierkes

By Marissa Smith At the close of the fall session of the Ikh Khural, Mongolia’s Parliament, the body voted to invalidate the sale of the 49% shares of Erdenet carried out in summer 2016, which transferred the ownership of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Erdenet, Marissa Smith, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy, Politics | 3 Comments

Guest Post: Label of Erdenet ‘Nationalization’ Misleading

Posted on February 18, 2017 by JDierkes

By Marissa Smith Many Fear Mongolian Government Decision Heralds Another Privatization, Securing of the Status Quo Possible Last week during an extra session after the final day of its fall session, Mongolia’s Parliament voted that the state acquire the share … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Corruption, Erdenet, Marissa Smith, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy | 21 Comments

What if Mongolia Went All-Organic?

Posted on December 9, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes I recently re-tweeted an ADB tweet about one of their blog posts, “The Foreseeable Future of Mongolia’s Agriculture” So important to note that “#Mongolia’s agriculture […] is organic, less polluted” thus huge, high-value potential in East Asia.#yummy … Continue reading →

Posted in Cashmere, Countryside, Development, Environment, Grassland, Infrastructure, Policy, Policy, Public Policy, Regulation, Tourism | Tagged | 4 Comments

Speculation Surrounding Erdenet Sale

Posted on October 7, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes A Massive Privatization Coup Right Before an Election? It seemed odd that there was an announcement just before the June 29 election that the 49% portion of the longtime engine of Mongolian development, Erdenet mine, that was … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Erdenet, Ikh Khural 2016, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy | Tagged | 7 Comments

Let’s Imagine a Rosy MPP Future

Posted on September 25, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes Just a quick reminder that I don’t dabble in Mongolian (party) politics, I just try to analyze political development, including parties and elections. In these analyses I try to stay as neutral and detached as I can. … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Ikh Khural 2016, Inequality, JD Democratization, Mongolian People's Party, Party Politics, Policy, Politics, Public Policy, Public Service, Younger Mongolians | Tagged | 2 Comments

Future of the DP?

Posted on September 12, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes A crushing defeat like the one that the DP suffered on June 29 should lead to some party-soul searching. More than two months after the election, I can only imagine that questions about the future of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Democratic Party, Foreign Policy, Ikh Khural 2016, Inequality, JD Democratization, Party Politics, Policy, Politics, Presidential 2017, Public Policy, Ulaanbaatar | Tagged | Leave a comment

Did (Any of) My Saikhanbileg Wishes Come True?

Posted on July 20, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes In December 2014 when the first Saikhanbileg cabinet had been formed, I wrote a personal wishlist of actions I was hoping that cabinet might take. J Erdenebat was the finance minister in that cabinet. All the more … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Democracy, Democratic Party, Education, Foreign Policy, Ikh Khural 2016, Mining, Party Politics, Policy, Policy, Politics, Public Policy, Public Service | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Reflections of Mining in 2016 Campaign Platforms

Posted on June 27, 2016 by mendee

By Enkhbat A Different Approaches to Mining The Mongolian parliamentary election will take place on June 29, 2016. There are 13 parties and 3 coalitions campaigning for the upcoming election. A brief analysis has been conducted on the four political entities, … Continue reading →

Posted in CIRDI, Democratic Party, Economics, Elections, Enkhbat Avirmed, Environment, Ikh Khural 2016, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: State Participation in Resources Projects

Posted on June 15, 2016 by JDierkes

By Unurjargal U The State’s Role in Large Resource Projects The appropriate forms for state participation in mining sector – a sensitive issue in Mongolia. The Canadian International Mineral Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI) organized a cooperation conference with the … Continue reading →

Posted in CIRDI, Mining, Mining Governance, Policy, Unurjargal Urjin | Leave a comment

Resource Nationalism?

Posted on March 31, 2016 by JDierkes

By Julian Dierkes One of the dominant foreign views of Mongolian politics is that they’re rife with “resource nationalism”. This perspective is reproduced in many conversations with people in the mining or financial industry and is often repeated by visiting … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreign Investment, JD Mining Governance, Mining, Mongolia and ..., Nationalism, Policy, Politics, Populism, Social Movements | Tagged | 4 Comments

Learning about Development Policy in Uvs Aimag

Posted on December 15, 2015 by JDierkes

I just visited Uvs province in Western Mongolia for the first time and had the chance to meet with stakeholder representatives from government, civil society, small businesses, and the corporate sector to learn about their development policy. Fascinating 1st visit … Continue reading →

Posted in CIRDI, Civil Society, Countryside, Development, Mining, Policy, Policy, Regulation, Social Issues, Social Movements, Water | Tagged | 2 Comments