Analysis: The future of Iraq’s political economy
Bureaucratic hostility toward private business is sustaining a culture of corruption that threatens the country's economic growth and political stability.
A worker climbs a drilling rig at the Rumaila oil field in Basra. (BEN VAN HEUVELEN/Iraq Oil Report/Metrography)
Iraq is afloat on a sea of oil, and high oil prices combined with rising export volumes could lead to a dramatically higher standard of living for the average Iraqi. But this economic potential is in danger.
Not only does Iraq face a revived al-Qaida insurgency, but it is also threatened by corruption and regulatory hostility towards private business. If the country fails to deal with these problems, then it will become increasingly vulnerable to political instability driven by either an oil price collapse or a surge in youth unemployment.
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