Iraq's Economic Predicament

This volume contains 12 papers written by authorities in their respective fields, in which they address the major aspects of Iraq's economy.

It is divided into four parts. Part One has two papers respectively dealing with the impact of United Nations sanctions upon economic activity and living conditions, and the foreign debt burden.

Part Two deals with the commodity sectors of oil, agriculture and manufacturing with reference to war and sanctions.

Part Three looks at aspects of the political economy by exploring the evolution of Iraqi etatisme in the context of the crisis of war and sanctions.

This Part also discusses the economic consequences of the disintegration of central state institutions in the Kurdish region and the attempts by local party administrations and external agencies to fill the gap.

The agrarian system and the problems of regenerating agriculture are also dealt with here.

The final part of the book contains reflections on Iraq's current economic predicament and its long-term challenges, and is written by three Iraqi economists with long experience of research on the country. Throughout the book, the authors examine a range of policies and institutional reform measures necessary to tackle the structural problems of the Iraqi economy.