In November 2013, the United States Library of Congress released a report describing Algeria’s macroeconomic position as “strong” during a month when Brent oil prices cruised at $108.08 per barrel—more than 54 percent higher than this Monday’s price at $49.40 per barrel. Indeed, buttressed by the elevated barrel prices, the government’s position had been strong at the point of the report’s writing. Estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the external debt-to-GDP ratio sat at 1.6 percent in 2013—a strikingly low rate even when the figure is compared internationally with countries more developed than the North African nation. Since oil was discovered in Algeria in 1958, the “superpower” has used profits from the industry to provide electricity to disconnected villages within its borders and build an intricate social welfare and public sector employment policy. To be fair, these systems have been far from perfect. Now, […]