The Wages of Oil: Parliaments and Economic Development in Kuwait and the UAE

Herb shows convincingly that oil mattered differently in diverse national contexts. Gregory Gause III, Texas A&M University, author of The International Relations of the Persian Gulf "In his new book, The Wages of Oil, Michael Herb excels in attempting to tackle why Kuwait is so unique politically, while Dubai, as part of UAE, is so unique economically. The book should be on the reading list not only of students of the Gulf but also of anyone interested in the politics of resource-rich states and the 'resource curse.'"Steffen Hertog, London School of Economics and Political Science, author of Princes

Rich and Unique The book provides s unique view of Kuwaiti. The discussion goes beyond superficial description that existed in many books. it provides deep and rich investigation of the reasons behind the current status. Another quality of the book is its inclusion . "An Important Contribution to the Literature on the Cost of Oil" according to Daniel Franklin. This is an outstanding discussion of the damages caused to democratic rule in the rentier state.

The Gulf has seen enormous changes in recent years, and more are to come. He compares Kuwait with the United Arab Emirates, which lacks Kuwait's parliament but has moved ambitiously to diversify.This data-rich book reflects the importance of both politics and economic development issues for decision-makers in the Gulf. He starts by asking why Kuwait is far ahead of all other Gulf monarchies in terms of political liberalization, but behind all of them in its efforts to diversify its economy away from oil. The contrast between Kuwait and the UAE today illustrates the vastly different possible futures facing the smaller states of the Gulf. Kuwait, meanwhile, has the most spirited and influential parliament in any of the oil-rich Gulf monarchi

He is the author of All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies.. Michael Herb is Associate Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University