Rethinking the Rentier Curse

The Middle Eastern political economy has long been studied through the prism of the resource curse—that is, how resource riches undermine the region’s economic and political development. While many of the region’s pathologies are rooted in an economic structure heavily reliant on external windfalls,...

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Main Author: Adeel Malik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement 2017-02-01
Series:Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/poldev/2266
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author Adeel Malik
author_facet Adeel Malik
author_sort Adeel Malik
collection DOAJ
description The Middle Eastern political economy has long been studied through the prism of the resource curse—that is, how resource riches undermine the region’s economic and political development. While many of the region’s pathologies are rooted in an economic structure heavily reliant on external windfalls, the existing literature tends to overstate the role of oil. This research note develops the case for a broader conceptualisation of rents that includes not just windfalls from hydrocarbons, but also rents derived from aid, remittances and government manipulation of the economy. Reliance on these rent streams is the ‘original sin’ that perpetuates underdevelopment. Discussions of Arab political economy should therefore be framed as part of a broader enquiry into the relationship between rents and development. This requires, in turn, a deeper understanding of business–state relationships and the role of regional linkages in development.
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publisher Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement
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spelling doaj-art-81f50db7d6e545ea81b3586244d1cded2024-12-09T15:48:00ZengInstitut de Hautes Études Internationales et du DéveloppementRevue Internationale de Politique de Développement1663-93751663-93912017-02-01710.4000/poldev.2266Rethinking the Rentier CurseAdeel MalikThe Middle Eastern political economy has long been studied through the prism of the resource curse—that is, how resource riches undermine the region’s economic and political development. While many of the region’s pathologies are rooted in an economic structure heavily reliant on external windfalls, the existing literature tends to overstate the role of oil. This research note develops the case for a broader conceptualisation of rents that includes not just windfalls from hydrocarbons, but also rents derived from aid, remittances and government manipulation of the economy. Reliance on these rent streams is the ‘original sin’ that perpetuates underdevelopment. Discussions of Arab political economy should therefore be framed as part of a broader enquiry into the relationship between rents and development. This requires, in turn, a deeper understanding of business–state relationships and the role of regional linkages in development.https://journals.openedition.org/poldev/2266
spellingShingle Adeel Malik
Rethinking the Rentier Curse
Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement
title Rethinking the Rentier Curse
title_full Rethinking the Rentier Curse
title_fullStr Rethinking the Rentier Curse
title_full_unstemmed Rethinking the Rentier Curse
title_short Rethinking the Rentier Curse
title_sort rethinking the rentier curse
url https://journals.openedition.org/poldev/2266
work_keys_str_mv AT adeelmalik rethinkingtherentiercurse