tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post3532910246464887792..comments2024-02-29T12:38:32.191-08:00Comments on MUSINGS ON IRAQ: Iraq Revises Down Budget Once AgainJoel Winghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-11946565377564501182009-01-29T09:55:00.000-08:002009-01-29T09:55:00.000-08:00Thanks a lot, very helpful. WB seems to be the on...Thanks a lot, very helpful. WB seems to be the only organization on the ground that does economic research--no IMF, no UNDP.iraqologist@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906408737881023902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-41731111902223748642009-01-28T20:08:00.000-08:002009-01-28T20:08:00.000-08:00Here's a new World Bank report on household income...Here's a new World Bank report on household income in Iraq:<BR/><BR/>http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/MENAEXT/IRAQEXTN/0,,contentMDK:22032522~menuPK:313111~pagePK:2865066~piPK:2865079~theSitePK:313105,00.html<BR/><BR/>Here's the World Bank's Iraq page link:<BR/><BR/>http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/MENAEXT/IRAQEXTN/0,,menuPK:313111~pagePK:141159~piPK:141110~theSitePK:313105,00.html<BR/><BR/>The IMF also has an Iraq page. It's all about the compact they have to reduce the debt:<BR/><BR/>http://www.imf.org/external/country/IRQ/index.htmJoel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-51727439932579253592009-01-28T19:56:00.000-08:002009-01-28T19:56:00.000-08:00Iraq Oil Report, again, no original reporting, but...Iraq Oil Report, again, no original reporting, but does a good job collecting and summarizing news about the oil industry and the economy in general.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-69999713861010504162009-01-28T16:49:00.000-08:002009-01-28T16:49:00.000-08:00Iraq Updates also has several sections on the econ...Iraq Updates also has several sections on the economy where they collect articles. Niqash also has an economy section in English. All of these along with Iraq Directory and Aswat al-Iraq have links on my blog under the "News, Think Tank, U.N. and Iraqi Government Sources on Iraq" section on the right hand side.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-21581158678564454682009-01-28T14:10:00.000-08:002009-01-28T14:10:00.000-08:00Aswat al Iraq also has an economy section in Engli...Aswat al Iraq also has an economy section in English.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-158790110762217192009-01-28T13:54:00.000-08:002009-01-28T13:54:00.000-08:00Iraq Directory is a site dedicated just to busines...Iraq Directory is a site dedicated just to business reporing they don't do any original reporting just translate a lot of stories from Arabic to English plus collect English stories as well.<BR/><BR/>I've found economic and business reporting especially very spotty. The numbers are all over the place. <BR/><BR/>SIGIR's quarterly reports are the best for an overview of reconstruction. They also talk about the economy in the individual proinces in general. I've found the Pentagon quarterly reports to be pretty bad. The last one does have aggregate numbers like GDP, etc.<BR/><BR/>That's what I can think of off the top of my head.<BR/><BR/>That's what I can think of off the top of my head.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-79755675014782200912009-01-28T13:16:00.000-08:002009-01-28T13:16:00.000-08:00Motown, I'm looking for some solid, up-to-date eco...Motown, I'm looking for some solid, up-to-date economic and development sources on Iraq. I'm interested in the development of private enterprise and the emergence of markets, investment climate and the government regulatory regime, the banking system, currency and foreign exchange policy, macroeconomic indicators like GDP, that sort of thing. Where's a good place to look. World Bank? IMF? SIGIR? I don't look at this stuff much, so any guidance you could give me would be appreciated.iraqologist@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906408737881023902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-32676627496522013272009-01-28T12:34:00.000-08:002009-01-28T12:34:00.000-08:00That's the big question. The government especially...That's the big question. The government especially at the provincial level just can't handle the job that's required I them either because of corruption, incompetance, lack of skilled staff or the top down system they still have where no one can do anything without the okay of the higher ups. Perhaps the bigger budgets are better because it means the total spent even if only a fraction is still bigger than a fraction of a smaller amount.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-51981876122873431232009-01-28T12:20:00.000-08:002009-01-28T12:20:00.000-08:00that's exactly what they plan on doing. They have ...that's exactly what they plan on doing. They have a lot of unspent money even going back to 07 I think. I'm not sure how much it is or whether it'll cover the deficit though.Joel Winghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611810110771744360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-74093210309011691902009-01-28T11:14:00.000-08:002009-01-28T11:14:00.000-08:00I wonder if the Iraqi government can't draw on the...I wonder if the Iraqi government can't draw on the money that in previous years they weren't able to spend, since it's still sitting around in a bank.AndrewSshihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12092217847584427587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953410733493889728.post-64508655137617316362009-01-28T10:23:00.000-08:002009-01-28T10:23:00.000-08:00How likely is this to have a tangible impact, give...How likely is this to have a tangible impact, given the ministries' poor record of spending allotted funds in the past? Cutting the budget from almost $80 billion to just over 50 sounds like a huge drop, but if the ministries were only going to spend 30% of the 80 anyway, what's the real effect?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com