The book is an ambitious attempt to answer important questions for resource dependent countries in general and Brunei in particular regarding the role and effectiveness of national planning in the drive for economic diversification. It reviews the history of economic planning in Brunei from the First National Development Plan to the present one. Economic planning should bring forward dynamics of change and help provide a clear direction to government policies and expenditure programs and initiate effective measures to set in motion the required structural and institutional changes to enable both the government and the private sector to make their full contribution. The book also contains extensive case studies on other resource dependent countries' experiences and applies statistical techniques to relevant data in an attempt to measure the extent of Dutch Disease in Brunei. This is an original research and as such it makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the resource curse, or Dutch Disease, phenomenon. The book gives an extensive literature review of Dutch Disease.

Dr PM Yakub was a veteran civil-servant having served Brunei Government in various senior posts and held important positions at international bodies. He graduated in B.A (Hons) Economics, Postgraduate Diploma in Education from England, M.A. (Public Administration) from Harvard University and Ph.D (Economics) from University of Brunei Darussalam.