Public Sector Reforms in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Tackling the Socially Constructed Barriers to Change

Abstract

The following chapter addresses the overinflated public sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), which has placed increased pressure on an already struggling regional economy. As an oil rich developing region, the KRI has characteristically fallen into the resource curse affecting many oil rich nations. One such symptom of this curse is an overinflated and inefficient public sector, which now employs over half of all adult workers in the region 3 , growing over time for both political purposes and out of fiscal mismanagement. The public sector of the KRI now stands as a fiscal burden on the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) central budget, undermining the region's ability to build a sustainable employment market for the future. In recent times, the strategy of the KRG has been to transition public sector employees into the private sector; however success in this area has been limited because of two main factors. Firstly, the private sector is weak, due to long term underinvestment in the sector and weak policy infrastructure to support enterprise. The region has suffered from a crippling economic crisis since 2014, 4 limiting the private sector roles available for public sector employees who wish to transition. Secondly, there are a number of social factors involved with limited private sector transition. Through years of employment patronage, superior employment benefits, low turnover,