AL-Qadisiyah Journal For Administrative and Economic sciences

The role of government spending in sustainable human development indicators in Iraq

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Diaa Hussein Saud

University of Diyala / College of Administration and Economics

https://doi.org/10.33916/qjae.2026.02379395
Abstract
The importance of this research stems from the crucial role of government spending components in influencing economic growth. Public spending is not limited to its total size alone, but extends to its distribution between consumption and investment spending. The Iraqi economy suffers from clear structural imbalances and fluctuations in economic growth rates as a result of its heavy reliance on oil revenues, in addition to the dominance of operational and consumption expenditures at the expense of investment expenditures within the structure of government spending. This has negatively impacted the achievement of economic growth. Therefore, the structure of government spending in Iraq is characterized by imbalance, with current expenditures dominating at the expense of investment expenditures, reflecting a consumerist nature of public spending. Therefore, it is recommended to rationalize government spending in its two aspects: current expenditures by halting the increase in employment in the public sector, and investment spending in productive sectors in order to diversify sources of income and support economic growth rates.

Keywords

government spending
current spending
investment spending
human development
sustainable development
Crossmark
AL-Qadisiyah Journal For Administrative and Economic sciences
Volume 28, Issue 2
Summer 2026
Pages 379-359

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