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White elephants on quicksand: Low oil prices and high geopolitical risk
Author(s) -
AbdelLatif Hany,
ElGamal Mahmoud
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
scottish journal of political economy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.4
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1467-9485
pISSN - 0036-9292
DOI - 10.1111/sjpe.12279
Subject(s) - geopolitics , vision , economics , investment (military) , middle east , oil price , curse , consumption (sociology) , economy , development economics , monetary economics , geography , politics , political science , philosophy , theology , law , social science , archaeology , sociology , anthropology
We investigate the effects of low oil prices and heightened geopolitical risks on economic growth and investment in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. We find that negative shocks to oil prices and positive shocks to geopolitical risk have adverse effects on GDP and investment. Moreover, we find that the impact of investment on GDP in MENA countries is muted when oil prices are low and/or geopolitical risk level is high. These findings cast doubts on the prospects of mega‐project economic transformation plans as envisioned in 2030 visions for several MENA countries.