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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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement
2017-02-01
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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. |
format | Article |
id | doaj-art-81f50db7d6e545ea81b3586244d1cded |
institution | Kabale University |
issn | 1663-9375 1663-9391 |
language | English |
publishDate | 2017-02-01 |
publisher | Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement |
record_format | Article |
series | Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement |
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 |