Workshop on
The Political Economy of Oil Revenue Management in
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Wednesday, 10th December 2008
Venue
Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
George Street, Oxford OX1 2AR
09:00
Overview: Aims of the Workshop
Professor Richard Auty, University of Lancaster, and Dr Adeel Malik, Oxford
Centre for Islamic Studies
1. Synthesise current knowledge and identify key research questions
concerning the consequences of natural resources for the MENA region’s
political economy.
Basic questions:
a.
How efficiently is oil extracted and supplied to global markets
in regard to revenue maximisation and minimising global
price shocks?
b.
Does fiscal policy appropriately allocate windfall oil revenue
between:
i. Domestic absorption and saving (EARA)
ii. Investment and consumption
iii. Current and future generations
c.
How can oil revenue deployment promote among Nationals
the accumulation of competitive skills rather than rent
entitlements?
d.
How efficient are MENA trade policies and financial systems?
e.
How effectively do the region’s political structures manage the
social pressures arising from resource-driven structural
change?
2. Determine appropriate research methodologies to answer those questions
3. Identify researchers to answer those questions
09:45
Oil Extraction, Global Oil Supply and Market Rigidity
Speaker:
Discussant:
Dr Mark Henstridge, British Petroleum
Professor Paul Stevens, Royal Institute of International
Affairs
10:30
Coffee Break
11:00
Fiscal Aspects: Oil Revenue Deployment
11:00
Asset accounting and the sustainability of extractive economies:
The case of Iran
Speaker:
Dr Kirk Hamilton, World Bank
Discussant: Professor Rick van der Ploeg, OxCarre
11:45
Windfall Revenue Deployment for Current Consumption v. Investment
Speaker:
Dr Alan Gelb, World Bank
Discussant: Professor Adrian Wood, University of Oxford
12:30
Buffet Lunch
14:00
Structural Change: Entitlements, skills and policies
14:00
The Entitlement Legacy from Previous Windfalls
Speaker:
Professor Mansoob Murshed, Institute of Social
Studies, The Hague
14:25 Labour Markets in MENA Region: A Review of Issues
Speaker:
Dr Bassam Fattouh, Oxford Institute of Energy Studies
14:50
Strategic Choices in Monetary Policy and Exchange Rate Regimes
Speaker:
Professor David Cobham, Herriott-Watt University
Discussant: Professor Chris Adam, University of Oxford
15:30
Coffee Break
16:00
Impact of Natural Resources on MENA Domestic Politics
16:00
Comparative Political Systems and Institutions of MENA Oil-exporters
Speaker:
Professor Kiren Aziz Chaudhry, UC Berkeley
Discussant: Dr Hassan Abedin, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
16:45
Culture, Religion and Political Economy
Speaker:
Professor Michael Ross, UCLA
Discussant: Dr Steffen Hertog, Sciences-Po, Paris
17:30 Summing Up
Professor Richard Auty and Dr Adeel Malik
1. Priority research questions for the long-term research project
2. Effective research methodologies
3. Potential research contributors
18.30
Dinner