Oil, development and conflict in Iraq: An introduction

Abstract

Th is article provides evidence on the economic and social importance of the oil sector in Iraq. Existing literature allows to understand the background, context and institutional framework that regulate the oil sector, the main implications and limitations for its development, and the impacts of the current confl ict on human development. By using a comparative analysis of diff erent secondary sources and statistical databases, the results show that Iraq has one of the largest oil reserves in the world; and the challenges that Iraq faces in order to overcome mismanagement of the sector, the underdevelopment of the infrastructure, the gap in the human development and the internal war.