Reflections on the Surplus Economy and the Alaska Permanent Fund

Abstract

The Alaska Permanent Fund was created in 1977, shortly after oil form Alaska's North Slope began flowing to market through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. It was originally envisioned to serve two general purposes - to set aside a share of oil revenues for the benefit of future generations of Alaskans after the depletion of the oil reserves, and to keep a share of oil revenues out of the hands of the current generation of politicians who could be counted to spend it on wasteful government operations and capital expenditures....The issue is how to design a set of public fiscal institutions that, taking this new revenue into account, will maximize long-term social welfare. Paper presented at a conference held at the University of Alberta, Sept. 2001.