Fireside Chat - Resisting the Fragmentation of the World Economy

Libya faces a paradox: it has a bloated public sector employing millions, yet a crippling unemployment crisis, especially among young people. According to the Libyan Audit Bureau’s 2023 report[1], over two million people work for the government, a figure that excludes state-owned enterprises such as oil companies, banks, and utilities companies. With a total labor force of 2.5 million[2], out of every ten Libyan adults, eight are employed by the government. This massive public workf ...

While the Brent oil prices in London have been fluctuating between 20 and 35 dollars per barrel for several weeks, and while American oil prices in New York even reached negative values on 20 April, most African oil-producing countries have, at the end of 2019, passed their 2020 budgets on the basis of rather optimistic forecasts, sometimes betting on an increase in expenditure financed by borrowing (Nigeria). Some of these countries were expecting Brent prices to be rather high in ...