Interesting piece on what goes on in Bahrain with regard to its economy,, its subsidies, its debt, etc.
Bahrain really needs to get its economic affairs together
Published February 3rd, 2015 - 19:56 GMT via SyndiGate.info
The divided public in Bahrain will eventually demand collective reforms, either when they realize that royal handouts are untenable or when they no longer believe that their monarchy is legitimate.
Bahrain depends heavily on oil as an income source. Petroleum production and refining accounts for 77% of Bahrain's export receipts, 87% of government revenues, and 19% of GDP. Amid the decline of oil prices to below $60/barrel, the government received many calls to diversify the economy. However, the remaining question is whether Bahrain will manage to diversify its economy without citizens’ contribution?
The island incurs a substantial deficit, carrying a government debt of more than 40% of GDP. As Bahrain’s public debt approached its ceiling of five billion dinars, the subsidy policies remains untouched. And instead of implementing austerity measures or diversifying the economy, the country's monarch issued a decree to raise the public debt to seven billion dinars.
Bahrain to many social scientists is a “rentier state” in which the state public budget is “dependent on a collection of unearned revenue from the extraction of natural resources.” The rentier state theory questioned the democratization process of the oil-rich Gulf states, and suggested that, as long as the states have sufficient amounts of such income (oil-income), it may not have a strong incentive to democratize, reform or develop economically, politically, or socially.
Continue reading at:
Bahrain might ve dodged the Arab Spring bullet but it really needs to get its economic affairs together Al Bawaba?
Bahrain really needs to get its economic affairs together
Published February 3rd, 2015 - 19:56 GMT via SyndiGate.info
The divided public in Bahrain will eventually demand collective reforms, either when they realize that royal handouts are untenable or when they no longer believe that their monarchy is legitimate.
Bahrain depends heavily on oil as an income source. Petroleum production and refining accounts for 77% of Bahrain's export receipts, 87% of government revenues, and 19% of GDP. Amid the decline of oil prices to below $60/barrel, the government received many calls to diversify the economy. However, the remaining question is whether Bahrain will manage to diversify its economy without citizens’ contribution?
The island incurs a substantial deficit, carrying a government debt of more than 40% of GDP. As Bahrain’s public debt approached its ceiling of five billion dinars, the subsidy policies remains untouched. And instead of implementing austerity measures or diversifying the economy, the country's monarch issued a decree to raise the public debt to seven billion dinars.
Bahrain to many social scientists is a “rentier state” in which the state public budget is “dependent on a collection of unearned revenue from the extraction of natural resources.” The rentier state theory questioned the democratization process of the oil-rich Gulf states, and suggested that, as long as the states have sufficient amounts of such income (oil-income), it may not have a strong incentive to democratize, reform or develop economically, politically, or socially.
Continue reading at:
Bahrain might ve dodged the Arab Spring bullet but it really needs to get its economic affairs together Al Bawaba?
