Social Safety Net in Islam: The Case of Persian Gulf Oil Exporters

The Persian Gulf oil-exporting countries have had a poor record of managing their oil wealth to meet the basic needs of their citizenry and have failed in insuring an equitable distribution of income and opportunities. Government expenditures in the social sector can be characterized as wasteful and subsidies as regressive and for the more-heavily populated countries simply unsustainable. Set within the paradigm of Islamic economics, providing both normative and ethical guidance on the development of a just economic order, the issue of reforms to the social safety net is analyzed and how these oil exporters can better address the needs of the disadvantaged in an Islamic context is suggested.     

Iran's Financial Stake in Caspian Oil

Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, the questions of how to divide the Caspian Sea and transport its oil and gas have not been resolved and have become more problematic because of outside interference. It is in Iran's financial interest to take the initiative and either accept a smaller section of the Caspian Sea—if guaranteed the opportunity to participate in the transport of its hydrocarbons—or propose an Iranian solution of creating a joint Caspian oil and gas company that would get the hydrocarbons out more quickly and efficiently.     

Winning Iran's Election Is Just The Beginning Of Rouhani's Political Struggles

Iran's president may have been re‐elected, but he'll need to win the supreme leader's support and get foreign powers to engage with Tehran to be successful.