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President Trump at the first cabinet meeting of his second term
Opinion
US Politics
Philip K. Verleger
Denver
26 March 2025
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Letter from the US: Trumpism threatens oil producers’ survival

Well-functioning democracies are required for healthier economies and a thriving oil industry

Few oil-exporting nations can be labelled democracies. Oil- and mineral-exporting nations work best as autocracies. On the other hand, research by the Nobel-prize-winning economist and MIT professor Daron Acemoglu and three co-authors has showed that long-run per-capita GDP increases by almost 20% when a nation transitions from autocracy to democracy, while declining by a similar amount when an autocrat attains control. The Trump administration’s takeover of the US government has put the country on the path to autocracy. The democratic institutions under which presidents, members of the House of Representees and the Senate—along with the judiciary—have operated for more than 200 years are be

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Petroleum Economist: June 2025
12 June 2025
The June 2025 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!

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