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Abstract
Countries endowed with natural resources such as oil and gas are faced with important economic challenges. Those challenges are of both a short- and long-term nature (see Chapter 2). In the short term, resource-rich countries face highly volatile revenues derived from resource exports, rendering difficult the conduct of macroeconomic stabilization policies. In the long term, resource-rich countries have, on average, experienced a lower rate of economic growth compared to resource-poor countries. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is not immune from those challenges. The region is both the locus of abundant reserves of natural resources and economically dependent on them. Indeed, 55 percent of global oil reserves and 29 percent of natural gas reserves are located in the MENA region (Oil and Gas Journal, 2009). The hydrocarbon sector also dominates many of these economies, contributing to large shares of government and export revenues.
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