Economic development in the Arab region : a tale of oil and politics
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2013
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Abstract
This chapter reviews the development experience of Arab countries since World War II, arguing that extractive economic and political institutions are the primary cause of underdevelopment in the region. While macroeconomic mismanagement and oil abundance are important determinants of performance, these factors are shaped primarily by prevailing political institutions, which predate the discovery of oil. In the oil-poor Arab countries, limited progress is attributed to an authoritarian bargain in which the rulers offer economic benefits to the poor and the middle class in exchange for political acquiescence.
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MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, ARAB SPRING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, OIL INDUSTRY, AUTHORITARIANISM, MODERNIZATION, RESOURCE CURSE, NATURAL RESOURCE POLICY, ECONOMIC GROWTH, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, POVERTY, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES, PETROLEUM INDUSTRY, OPEC, ARAB COUNTRIES, UNDERDEVELOPMENT