tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post1810844242604330731..comments2024-02-29T12:38:32.191-08:00Comments on MUSINGS ON IRAQ: Exploring The Structural Problems With Iraq’s Economy, Interview With Lehigh University Prof. Frank GunterJoel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-67360054624047482262013-09-16T08:12:55.077-07:002013-09-16T08:12:55.077-07:00Excellent overview and outlook.
At one point, the...Excellent overview and outlook.<br /><br />At one point, the NDP recognized the need to restore domestic agriculture in order to: (1) develop employment; and (2) internalize the oil funds otherwise used to purchase foreign food.<br />The problem, as Prof. Gunter notes, is that oil keeps the Iraqi dinar high, discouraging internal markets, and encouraging imports. Unless strong tariffs and import controls, together with capital and agribusiness infrastructure, are essential (but, perhaps, too complicated to implement). <br />His notation of the common parallel in Iraq and Afghanistan is a compelling reminder: Both, for opposite reasons, are not essentially conducive to typical democratic engagement (taxes, budgets)since Iraq's government and economy are based on oil, and Afghanistan has no central government or money. Black markets abound for the most obvious and basic reasons---the only way distributive systems can and do work.<br /><br />Thanks, again.Steve Donnelly, AICPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11707306512563808960noreply@blogger.com