The Economic Development Of The Middle East

First published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Offering a comprehensive analysis of the development of economies in the Middle East and North Africa over the past half century, this book charts the progress of these countries through an examination of an Islamic model of economic development, reform processes, and economic integration. Far from being a simple process, economic development in the Middle East and North Africa is dependent on the interaction of a set of changing systems including; international relations, the political regime, economy, and society. By analysing these interdependent factors, The Economic Development Process in MENA seeks to provide answers to the most pressing issues facing the economies in this area. Providing an interpretation of regional development in light of dialectics between state and society, this book will be of value to students and scholars with an interest in the Middle East, Economics, and International Relations.

An analysis of the transformation of the political economy of the nations of the Middle East over the past several decades. The authors stress the interrelation of politics and development strategies with regard to class formation and to the definition of powerful new interests.

Despite its oil resources,the Middle East is falling behind other regions of the developing world, notably the countries of East and South East Asia. Rodney Wilson examines the economic prospects for the region considering: *the consequences of rapid population growth, including the implications for education and employment; *low savings levels; *the absence of significant inflows of private capital and foreign investment; *fragmentation of the banking system; *the basic ecomomic infrastructure and the problems caused by excessive military expenditure; *falling oil prices; *budget deficits; The author examines alternative economic directions for the region arguing that both the methods and goals of development have to be reassessed in a region where Islam prevails.

In the early 1960s the Middle East suffered from political instability, inefficiency of government, widespread poverty and inequality, low productivity, and a mounting population pressure on the region’s resources. With the exception of some of the oil-exporting countries, the entire region still suffers from these same burdens. There have been many studies in the economic development and industrialization of the region in recent years. This study is different, motivated by scepticism and a sense of intellectual frustration and apprehension because of the apparent inadequacy of socioeconomic and political development in the Middle East. First published in 1987.

Since the early 1970s the oil producing countries of the Gulf have become a focus of intense interest worldwide. Most of this interest has centred on the oil giants, Saudi Arabia, Iran, even Iraq and Kuwait. Yet the United Arab Emirates is also among the largest producers, on a par with Kuwait, Nigeria and Libya, with reserves greater than the USA. Given its high economic growth rate, the UAE is an excellent laboratory in which to test and evaluate policies and programmes to effect rapid economic development. The international stature of the UAE far exceeds what its physical size, population and breadth of resources would seem to indicate. As a member of OPEC, the UAE has played a vital role within that body’s ‘price moderates’. With one of the world’s highest per capita incomes and with ambitious development efforts under way, the UAE, not surprisingly, has become a major market for capital and consumer goods, involving substantial foreign services, banking, business and industry. Based on more than a decade of study, on-site research and interviews with key figures, this book – which mixes the practical with the academic approach – will prove of great value to Middle Eastern and development specialists, students and to the international business and financial communities. First published in 1981.