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Austerity and resistance: the public salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

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  • Rodgers, Winthrop

Abstract

A decade-long financial crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) has hit public servants the hardest. In response to retaliatory budget cuts by Iraq’s federal government over Kurdish independent oil exports, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) initiated a range of austerity measures seeking to maintain financial solvency. This policy included the non-payment and delay of salaries, a formal salary withholding scheme, dramatic reductions in public sector recruitment, and the suspension of promotions for existing workers. It resulted in extensive economic, social, and political consequences that have contributed to the breakdown of the KRI’s social contract and eroded the power of the two ruling parties. Despite its local importance, this issue has attracted little academic and international media attention, which this paper attempts to address.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodgers, Winthrop, 2025. "Austerity and resistance: the public salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 130368, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:130368
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/130368/
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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