James Cust

James Cust is the chief economist at Future and a visiting fellow at Oxford University, where he co-directs the executive program on Managing Mining, Oil and Gas for Development at the Blavatnik School of Government. He is a development economist, with significant experience and expertise in the economics of natural resource extraction. He was formerly senior economist at the World Bank Office of the Chief Economist, Africa Region, and director of research at the Natural Resource Governance Institute. His research focuses on the macroeconomics of natural resources, climate change, and sustainable development. Previously, he led the Changing Wealth of Nations program, a flagship sustainability publication and database of natural capital accounts produced by the World Bank. He also cofounded a network of African chief economic advisors to 40 African presidents, the CEoG initiative, and before this co-founded the Natural Resource Charter. He recently published the book Africa’s Resource Future: Harnessing Natural Resources for Economic Transformation During the Low Carbon Transition (World Bank, 2023). His work has been published widely in academic journals such as the Journal of the European Economic Association, the Journal of Development Economics, the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, Energy Economics, and Climate Policy, among others. His work has been covered in the press including The Economist, Nature, Reuters and the IMF’s Finance and Development. Dr. Cust holds a DPhil in economics from the University of Oxford.