Oil and the Middle Eastern Economies

This course is an introduction to economic development in the Middle Eastern focusing on the various influences of the discovery and export of oil. In what ways has the discovery of oil changed the oil (and non-oil) producing societies? How can we reconcile the existence of massive natural resources with the levels of poverty and underdevelopment throughout the region? Is this contradiction a result of inward orientation of the regimes or other cultural pre-dispositions, as is widely repeated in popular discourse? How have the processes of de-colonization, the clash of the various nationalist projects, and reoccurring wars, sanctions, and occupations hindered human development? By exploring novels, films, and scholarly articles we will examine the interaction between the various social actors, state structure and policy, and structural transformation within the region. REA, WRI, MCP, PRJ, PRS