Curriculum Vitae
James Cust · Development Economist
James Cust
Development Economist
University of Oxford · World Bank
jimcust@gmail.com · jamescust.com · LinkedIn · Bluesky · Google Scholar
Current Positions
- 2016–
Senior Economist, Office of the Chief Economist, Africa Region
World Bank
- Oxford
Visiting Fellow of Practice
Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
- CSIS
Senior Associate (Non-resident)
Center for Strategic and International Studies, Critical Minerals Security Program
- Payne
Non-Resident Fellow
Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines
- OxCarre
External Research Associate
Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies
Previous Positions
- 2023–25
Chief Economist
Future.Green (on leave from World Bank)
- 2013–16
Director of Research and Data
Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI)
- 2009–13
Acting Director
Natural Resource Charter
Research Interests
- Natural resources and economic development
- Critical minerals and the energy transition
- Industrial policy in low- and middle-income countries
- Fiscal policy and sovereign wealth funds
- The presource curse
Education
- 2014
DPhil Economics
University of Oxford (OxCarre)
-
MSc Economics for Development (Distinction)
University of Oxford
-
BA Economics (First Class Honours)
University of Cambridge
Teaching
- Oxford
Managing Mining, Oil and Gas for National Development
Executive education course, Blavatnik School of Government. Co-taught with Sir Paul Collier.
Selected Publications
- 2023
James Cust, Torfinn Harding, Hanna Krings, Alexis Rivera-Ballesteros (2023). "Public Governance versus Corporate Governance: Evidence from Oil Drilling in Forests." Journal of Development Economics. DOI ↗
- 2022
James Cust, Shantayanan Devarajan, Pierre Mandon (2022). "Dutch Disease and the Public Sector." Journal of African Economies. DOI ↗
- 2020
James Cust, Torfinn Harding (2020). "Institutions and the Location of Oil Exploration." Journal of the European Economic Association. DOI ↗
- 2019
James Cust, Torfinn Harding, Pierre-Louis Vezina (2019). "Dutch Disease Resistance: Evidence from Indonesian Firms." Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. DOI ↗
- 2015
Paul Collier, James Cust (2015). "Investing in Africa's Infrastructure: Financing and Policy Options." Annual Review of Resource Economics. DOI ↗
- 2015
James Cust, Steven Poelhekke (2015). "The Local Economic Impacts of Natural Resource Extraction." Annual Review of Resource Economics. DOI ↗
- 2009
James Cust (2009). "Using Intermediate Indicators: Lessons for Climate Policy." Climate Policy. DOI ↗
- 2008
Karsten Neuhoff, Andreas Ehrenmann, Lucy Butler, James Cust, Harvey Hoexter, Kim Keats, Adam Kreczko, Graham Sinden (2008). "Space and Time: Wind in an Investment Planning Model." Energy Economics. DOI ↗
Working Papers
- 2023
James Cust, Paul Collier, Alexis Rivera-Ballesteros (2023). "Are the Poorest Catching Up?." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10622. WB PRWP ↗
- 2022
James Cust, Alexis Rivera Ballesteros, Albert Zeufack (2022). "The Dog that Didn't Bark: The Missed Opportunity of Africa's Resource Boom." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 10120. WB PRWP ↗
- 2022
David Mihalyi, Jieun Hwang, Diego Rivetti, James Cust (2022). "Resource-Backed Loans in Sub-Saharan Africa." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9923. WB PRWP ↗
- 2020
James Cust, Justice Tei Mensah (2020). "Natural Resource Discoveries, Citizen Expectations and Household Decisions." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 9372. WB PRWP ↗
- 2017
James Cust, David Mihalyi (2017). "Evidence for a Presource Curse? Saving and Investment Responses to Giant Oil Discoveries." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper. WB PRWP ↗
- 2017
David Manley, James Cust, Giorgia Cecchinato (2017). "Stranded Nations? The Climate Policy Implications for Fossil Fuel-Rich Developing Countries." OxCarre Policy Paper 34. SSRN ↗
Books & Edited Volumes
- 2025
James Cust, World Bank Group (2025). Mineral Resources of Africa. World Bank Group. Read ↗
- 2023
James Cust, Albert Zeufack (2023). Africa's Resource Future: Harnessing Natural Resources for Economic Transformation during the Low-Carbon Transition. World Bank Group. DOI ↗
- 2021
James Cust, Grzegorz Peszko (2021). The Changing Wealth of Nations 2021: Managing Assets for the Future. World Bank Group. DOI ↗
Policy Outputs
- 2026
"What is the Presource Curse and How Can Countries Avoid It?." Threats to Growth Lab. Read ↗
- 2025
"Africa's Natural Resources: Engine for Economic Transformation." World Bank Blogs. Read ↗
- 2017
"The Presource Curse." IMF Finance & Development. Read ↗
- 2014
"The Natural Resource Charter: A Framework for Good Governance." Natural Resource Governance Institute. Read ↗