Inside Iraq's Cash Economy

IRIS Non-Resident Fellow, Dr. Mark DeWeaver, an emerging-markets fund manager, ISX investor, independent economist and author, is publishing a report titled: "Inside Iraq’s Cash Economy: Fully Reserved Banking in a Monetary Dystopia." This report is based on fieldwork conducted in the KRI, with the support of IRIS and AUIS student research assistants.

It addresses issues pertaining to Iraq’s cash economy – fully reserved banking, the money transfer company system, and the role of the Central Bank of Iraq – and explores implications for policy-making. It also sheds light on the considerations that have dictated a shift towards a cash economy, such as high uncertainty and weakness of financial regulation and institutions, as the only available private wealth protection mechanism. In this sense, Dr. DeWeaver, through an insightful analysis of “Iraq’s monetary dystopia,” paints a novel, positive portrait of an often suspiciously perceived cash economy.

You can access the full report by clicking here or on the image below.

Dr. De Weaver previously published another installment of the IRIS Iraq Report,  "Kurdistan's Great Recession: From Boom to Bust in the Rentier Economy." 

Reference: DeWeaver, Mark. "Inside Iraq's Cash Economy: Fully Reserved Banking in a Monetary Dystopia.” IRIS Iraq Report. Institute of Regional and International Studies. April 20, 2016. URL: http://auis.edu.krd/iris/sites/default/files/IRIS%20Iraq%20Report%20IIR_Mark%20DeWeaver_Inside%20Iraq%E2%80%99s%20Cash%20Economy_2016_0.pdf