Despite unveiling a record budget for 2013 just three months ago, Oman has said it expects the growth in government expenditure to slow in the coming years as it looks to ‘normalize’ its fiscal policy post-Arab Spring and global financial crisis.
The Omani government boosted spending on both welfare and job creation initiatives in 2011 in an attempt to quell the social unrest that threatened to destabilize the country in the wake of the Arab Spring. The authorities also took to spending heavily on crucial infrastructure – such as airports, ports and free trade zones – to help diversify its economy away from oil and gas, which in 2011 was estimated to account for around 50% of the economy. (CONTINUED - 324 WORDS)
