Reshaping Economic Development in Iraq After 2003: A Study of The Experience and Future Pospects

The economic development in Iraq has been characterized by rentierism, driven by the rentier nature of the economy as a whole. The oil sector has been the primary driver in forming the gross domestic product (GDP), public budget revenues, and exports. Despite the availability of substantial oil revenues for successive governments post-2003, they have failed to establish the foundations for economic development based on economic diversification and varied income sources. Instead, reliance on the oil sector has deepened, accompanied by low productivity in other economic sectors and a marginal role for the private sector. Over the past two decades, Iraqi governments have devised several economic development plans aimed at diversifying the economy and addressing entrenched structural imbalances. This study examines the issue that Iraq has not achieved economic development, economic diversification, or correction of the productive structure despite the vast financial resources derived from oil revenues. Instead, development indicators have declined, while poverty and unemployment rates have risen, and dependence on oil has intensified. The study hypothesizes that the strategic development plans formulated post-2003 have not achieved economic development commensurate with the scale of Iraq’s economy. Conversely, Iraq’s economy possesses industrial, agricultural, and human resources, in addition to financial resources, that enable it to achieve economic diversification and sustainable, advanced economic development. The research aims to review and evaluate strategic development plans, assess the state of economic development and its main challenges, and propose feasible scenarios for achieving economic development.