The Rise of the Middle East Sovereign Wealth Funds: Causes, Consequences and Policies

Abstract: The basic purpose of sovereign wealth fund is pursuing a stable and sustainable economic development. The Middle East is the first region to set up sovereign wealth funds in the world. It is a resource-based sovereign wealth fund aiming to eliminate the potential impact of oil price fluctuations on the domestic fiscal and monetary policies, and balance the foreign exchange earnings. The sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East have developed rapidly in recent years and have exerted impact on regional economic development and macroeconomic policy. But the sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East are not able to cooperate with the domestic fiscal policy and balance the domestic economic fluctuations. Therefore, in order to play a more important role, the sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East need an improvement in investment, rules and target.