Decentralizing Iraq's gas-import market

"A government often accused of being no government at all has somehow managed to take its first steps to liberalize the highly centralized economy of the Saddam era. Iraq has a debt-relief deal with the IMF that requires Baghdad to end subsidies and open up its gas-import market. Earlier this year the government made the first hesitant steps, axing fuel subsidies—and sending prices from a few cents a liter to around 14. 'This has become one important way of institutionally engaging with Iraq,' says economist Colin Rowat at the University of Birmingham. 'If you lose that engagement, then that means a lot more people have given up on Iraq.' "

source
Newsweek (International Edition). Iraq's Economy is Booming: Blood and Money. December 25, 2006.

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posted: monday, december 25, 2006, 7:21 PM ET
update: monday, december 25, 2006, 7:30 PM ET

tags: iraq federalism economy