ABSTRACT
The government in Qatar holds that oil revenues ought to be utilised efficiently through a prudent expenditure policy, making certain that sufficient surpluses are kept for future development. Nonetheless, governmental spending in this country has been undertaken, so far, without a general direction towards a comprehensive development plan. A conjecture may be made however that, since the country is very small and furthermore, given the high population concentration in the Doha area, perhaps a comprehensive development plan is a superfluous economic institution. The discussion of public finance is important because, in lieu of a development plan, it is only in the analysis of budgetary estimates and allocations that the role of the government and its developmental objectives could be elucidated. The difficulty in obtaining a clear picture of the development objectives and programmes of Qatar is due in part to the less structured and more diversified management of the Qatari economy, especially in matters relating to finance and surpluses.
