Networks of Privilege in the Middle East: The Politics of Economic Reform Revisited

Networks of Privilege in the Middle East: The Politics of Economic Reform Revisited

Author: S. Heydemann

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2004-08-20

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 1403982147

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume explores the role of informal networks in the politics of Middle Eastern economic reform. The editor's introduction demonstrates how network-based models overcome limitations in existing approaches to the politics of economic reform. The following chapters show how business-state networks in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan have affected privatization programs and the reform of fiscal policies. They help us understand patterns and variation in the organization and outcome of economic reform programs, including the opportunities that economic reforms offered for reorganizing networks of economic privilege across the Middle East.


Citizen Hariri

Citizen Hariri

Author: Hannes Baumann

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-06-01

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 0190862629

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Rafiq Hariri was Lebanon's Silvio Berlusconi: a 'self-made' billionaire who became prime minister and shaped postwar reconstruction. His assassination in February 2005 almost tipped the country into civil strife. Yet Hariri was neither a militia leader nor from a traditional political family. How did this outsider rise to wield such immense political and economic power? Citizen Hariri shows how the billionaire converted his wealth and close ties to the Saudi monarchy into political power. Hariri is used as a prism to examine how changes in global neoliberalism reshaped Lebanese politics. He initiated urban megaprojects and inflated the banking sector. And having grown rich as a contractor in the Gulf, he turned Lebanon into an outlet for Gulf capital. The concentration of wealth and the restructuring of the postwar Lebanese state were comparable to the effects of neoliberalism elsewhere. But at the same time, Hariri was a deeply Lebanese figure. He had to fend against militia leaders and a hostile Syrian regime. The billionaire outsider eventually came to behave like a traditional Lebanese political patron. Hannes Baumann assesses not only the personal legacy of the man dubbed 'Mr Lebanon' but charts the wider social and economic transformations his rise represented.


Country gender assessment of the agriculture and rural sector - Lebanon

Country gender assessment of the agriculture and rural sector - Lebanon

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2021-04-19

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 9251338825

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

FAO Policy on Gender Equality identifies gender mainstreaming and women-targeted actions as a twofold strategy for the achievement of gender equality in the agricultural and rural sector. This book reflects on the FAO gender assessment of the agricultural and rural sector of Lebanon, explaining by that the gender mainstreaming across different levels, including the political and institutional ones in addition to providing a detailed and statistical gender analysis for the engagement of women in the agricultural sector, along with its various restrictions and implications on the rural community.


Lebanon

Lebanon

Author: International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2017-01-24

Total Pages: 70

ISBN-13: 1475570619

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This 2016 Article IV Consultation highlights that Lebanon’s economic growth remains subdued. Following a sharp drop in 2011, growth edged upward briefly to 2–3 percent, but has now slowed again. The IMF staff estimates that GDP increased by 1 percent in 2015, and a similar growth rate in 2016 is projected. Lebanon’s traditional growth drivers—tourism, real estate, and construction—have received a significant blow and a strong rebound is unlikely based on current trends. In the absence of a turnaround in confidence, or a resolution of the Syrian conflict, growth is unlikely to return to potential (4 percent) soon.


The State and Global Change

The State and Global Change

Author: Hassan Hakimian

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-08-11

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1000143996

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Economic liberalisation and reform are widely considered as the favourite remedies for the declining economic fortunes of the Middle Eastern and North African states in the past two decades. International economic institutions have been among the main advocates of transition to market-led economies in the region and a force contributing to its realisation. This has placed the state at the centre of the proposed transformations, acting both as an instrument of, and an obstacle to, change. With attempts at liberalisation worldwide spanning over twenty years, the time is ripe for a re-evaluation of its premises and outcome. The essays in this volume debate the political economy of transition and reforms in the Middle East and North Africa, drawing on interdisciplinary approaches and outlooks involving international, regional and national levels of analysis. The three central themes of the book are the rationale and strategies for reform, the processes and outcomes, and the nature of the state in the changing global setting.


Stakeholder mapping and needs assessment - Lebanon

Stakeholder mapping and needs assessment - Lebanon

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2020-02-17

Total Pages: 93

ISBN-13: 9251321159

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Given the scarcity of land and water resources, global strategies to increase food production should focus efforts on increasing production per unit resources, i.e. the combined increase of production per unit land surface (yield expressed in kg/ha) and the increase of production per unit water used (water productivity expressed in kg/m³). The FAO portal to monitor WAter Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed derived data (WaPOR) uses satellite information to compute and map key variables related to water and agriculture, such as evapotranspiration, biomass production and water productivity. The provision of near real time information through such open access data portal enables a range of service-providers to assist farmers attain more reliable yields and to improve their livelihoods; irrigation operators have access to new information to assess the performance of systems and to identify where to focus investments to modernize the irrigation schemes; and government agencies will be able to use the information to monitor and promote the efficient use of natural resources. This report presents the work undertaken to identify key stakeholders in the agriculture and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector and the capacity needs of farmers to improve water productivity in a sustainable manner, through two components; the first surveys the role and capacities of various stakeholders in the ICT and agriculture sector in Lebanon, and the second presents and analyzes the results of a survey into the capacity needs of farmers in relation to the use of ICT in agriculture in the Bekaa valley.


Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan

Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan

Author: Laura Etheredge Assistant Editor, Middle East Geography

Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc

Published: 2011-01-15

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1615303294

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Presents histories of Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan and the geographic, economic, and social factors that have come to define them.


Challenges of Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa Region

Challenges of Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa Region

Author: Julia Devlin

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 566

ISBN-13: 9812793453

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Ch. 1. Is MENA exceptional? ch. 2. State formation, consolidation, and development, 1960s-1980s -- ch. 3. Toward greater use of markets and the global economy? -- ch. 4. Oil, OPEC, and the challenges of surplus management -- ch. 5. Water scarcity and agricultural policy in the MENA region -- ch. 6. Building a new future : development in the post-conflict context and post-disaster recovery -- ch. 7. Is the MENA region "open" for business? -- ch. 8. Making global integration work for MENA countries -- ch. 9. Are market disciplines sufficient? Industrial policy and technology transfer -- ch. 10. The keys to the future : human capital development in the MENA region -- ch. 11. Are MENA's labor markets the key to growth? -- ch. 12. Closing the poverty gap in MENA -- ch. 13. Development assistance and its effectiveness in MENA countries -- ch. 14. Pathways to future prosperity.


Lebanon

Lebanon

Author: International Monetary Fund

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2012-02-09

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 1463952872

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Lebanon is facing a difficult global, regional, and domestic environment simultaneously for the first time in more than a decade. Domestic policies should aim at instilling confidence and tackling key policy challenges, such as preserving macroeconomic stability and paving the way for a more resilient, dynamic, and inclusive economy. The Banque du Liban (BdL) relied on its large foreign reserves build-up during the upswing to intervene forcefully when the Lebanese pound came under pressure from deposit outflows and currency conversions in the wake of the government crisis.