Hydrocarbons, Rent and the Algerian Growth Strategy: A Critical Appraisal of the Process of Building an Independent and National Economy

Bendib, Rachid (1988) Hydrocarbons, Rent and the Algerian Growth Strategy: A Critical Appraisal of the Process of Building an Independent and National Economy. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

After its independence in 1962, Algeria experienced a growth process which was supposed to bring about qualitative and quantitative changes in both the structural features of the domestic economy and its position within the international division of labour. To that extent, introversion and integration of the economy emerged as basic themes upon which Algerian policymakers sought to justify the adopted growth process. This was based on the development of heavy industries as a matter of priority. Export of hydrocarbons and appropriation of the oil rent by the state were presented as the means by which financial constraints would be overcome and a productive base erected. The oil rent could, however, yield an opposite discourse whereby the rentier ideology would become dominant and relegate the implantation of an efficient productive apparatus to a secondary position. The emphasis, in the official discourse, on the development of the forces of production, and the absence of an unambiguous social project did, in fact, present the appropriate setting for the development of a rentier ideology. By the end of the 1970s, Algeria exhibited the essential features of a rentier economy to the extent that neither the agricultural nor the industrial sector could perform without support from the oil rent. Thus, rather than favouring the realisation of an integrated economy, the appropriation of the oil rent by a state which had no social project, inhibited the search for radical solutions to objective problems. The reduction of the magnitude of the oil rent during the 1980s would, then, call into question the inefficient functioning of the domestic productive base. The same reduction would require a repositioning of the dominant social groups and the development of a new ideological discourse to advance an appropriate social project.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Economics, North African studies, Public policy
• Date of Award: 1988
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1988-77257
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jan 2020 09:14
• Last Modified: 14 Jan 2020 09:14
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/77257