Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. In the context of the 2019 Article IV consultation with Iraq, the following documents have been released and are included in this package: A Press Release summarizing the views of the Executive Board as expressed during its July 19, 2019 cons
Read MoreIraq is in the news again and sadly, it’s not good. More than 100 Iraqis were killed in violent protests during the first week of October. The latest troubles are neither sectarian nor terrorist-related. They are motivated by popular frustration with government corruption and a stagnant economy. A Self-Inflicted Tragedy With demands increasing in Baghdad streets for, i
Read MoreABSTRACT This article deals with economic growth in Iraq when formal institutions are subject to abrupt institutional change. The article follows a quantitative mode of enquiry to determine the impacts of institutional changes on economic performance. I built an expanded and updated version of Rowat’s model for the Iraq war of 2003. Thus, I estimate the effects of oil price,
Read MoreThe nearly year-old cabinet of Adel Abdul-Mahdi, the prime minister, has, in its regular weekly meeting on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, “approved the draft ‘Construction Council’ Bill [Miswadat Qānūn ‘Majlis al-I’mār’ - 2019] and forwarded it to the Council of Representatives”- the Iraqi Parliament for approval (https://gds.gov.iq/ar/cabinet-approves-the-draft-construction-coun
Read MoreThe public’s demands are just and their patience is all but gone, so Baghdad needs to get on with the hard work of opening up the economy and providing critical services before the violence spirals out of control. While Washington focuses on getting Baghdad to rein in militias and end its dependency on Iranian energy, Iraqi citizens have been seething about other matters. Fuel
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