Libya may prioritise rent payments over reconstruction

Significance

The country’s politics have long been dominated by the desire to control the state apparatus, and consequently the distribution of wealth and benefits, rather than by a specific economic ideology. Political turbulence and insecurity since 2011 and 2014 have disrupted these patterns but have not fundamentally changed them.

Impacts

• Business opportunities for foreign companies will grow slowly.
• Security and political risks will continue to deter major foreign investment.
• Public investment spending will not return to pre-2011 levels before 2020-21.