Egypt doesn't have much of it, certainly when compared with Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and that's important to keep in mind when contemplating a post-Mubarak economy. From Nate Silver:
Nor is it true for some of the other countries in the region that are experiencing political tension. Yemen, for instance -- although its oil exports constitute a relatively large share of its G.D.P. because its economy is so underdeveloped otherwise -- earns only about $350 per capita per year from its oil exports. Syria, whose authoritarian regime is said to be nervous about the developments in Egypt, makes about $200 per head, as does Sudan, which is about to split in two. And Jordan has no oil exports at all. If the theory holds, then governments like these -- and not oil-rich ones like Libya, Algeria, or the states of the Arabian Peninsula -- are more likely to be the next to fall.




Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.