VOL. XLVI

No 24

16-June-2003

BUDGETS AND REVENUES

Arab Budgets Move Into Deficit In 2001

The year 2001 saw a sharp deterioration in the public finances of Arab governments, which recorded a cumulative budget deficit of $12.3bn after realizing a surplus of $5.4bn in 2000, according to statistics published in the Unified Arab Economic Report (September 2002). The main reason for this poor performance is attributed to relatively high capital and current expenditures and declining total revenues. The...