Based on a critical review of diverse explanations for underdevelopment in the Middle East, ranging from long-run historical approaches to accounts that concentrate on developments since independence, I make two main arguments in this essay. First, a single framework cannot explain the diverse...

It is often argued that, ethically, resource rents should accrue to all citizens. Yet in reality the rents from exploiting national resources are often concentrated in the hands of a few. If resource rents were to be taxed, on the other hand, substantial amounts of public money could be raised...