The record of policymaking in the new millennium has been more positive than that of the 1990s. This may be due in part to the lessons from the tough times of the late 1990s, but it could equally be the product of healthy terms of trade due to a mineral boom since 2002. Commodity prices, as of late 2008, were once again declining with the potential to hurt the fiscal position of the state, the value of the kina and the general economic health of Papua New Guinea. Policy making in Papua New Guinea may once again be tested during the economic downturn of 2009. This time round, however, the government has the capacity to borrow and thus cushion some of the effects of the downturn.