The Rentier State

This volume, first published in 1987, is devoted to a discussion of interrelations of the economic base with the cultural, social and political structures, and of its impact on the state. The ‘rentier states’ of the Middle East, which derive a substantial part of their revenue from foreign sources in the form of rent, largely oil revenues, face the same basic problem, the challenge of transforming their economies to give increased strength to productive activity and rely on its progress to ...