The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Iraqi Economy

Abstract

In October of 2019, the epidemic was accompanied by a series of political crises and widespread rallies calling for better service, health, and living conditions as well as the elimination of pervasive corruption across all levels of government. Mr. Adel Abdul Mahdi's cabinet resigned, Mr. Mustafa Al-Kazemi was appointed, and early elections were called as a result, all of which undermined compliance with the ban and closure measures. budget and pandemic spending for 2020 and 2022 approved. While the drop in oil earnings due to worldwide closures and low energy market demand was a concern, it was not unique to Iraq and did not have a bigger impact on the economy or social indices than austerity did during the epidemic. The impacts of the epidemic were lessened by global stimulus packages. Iraq's economy has benefited from high oil prices and increased production and export, but the country's poor economic management and reliance on oil have impacted income and employment. Due to growing inequality, private sector employees in Iraq are more likely to experience poverty than public sector workers. This is especially true for low-income and informal sector workers and female-headed households. There is no effort to increase productivity, provide employment, shift people out of the public sector and into the private sector, or create new markets for new industries and goods because the state is only responsible for managing and distributing oil rents. Instead, it increases job dragging by employing inefficiently and thereby pumping the groups searching for work inside state institutions.