middle east

Large natural gas finds off the coast of Israel create significant financial and energy challenges for a State long focused on high technology exports and alternative energy development.  To address these concerns, Israel has already implemented study commissions and proposed a Sovereign Wealth Fund (the "Citizens of Israel Fund").  This paper reviews the proposed structure of the Fund and a number of other core issues related to the gas finds such as how much to export, how to deploy revenues, and how the development will affect energy security.  It makes the following recommendat

The policy of maintaining tight control of domestic energy prices has characterized the political and economic environment in most Arab countries, together with many other parts of the world, for decades. The objectives behind such a policy range from overall welfare objectives such as expanding energy access and protecting poor households’ incomes; to economic development objectives such as fostering industrial growth and smoothing domestic consumption; and to political considerations, including the distribution of oil and natural gas rents in resource-rich countries.