The Palestinian Economy

This is the first report to systematically evaluate and quantify the economic potential of Area C, which constitutes approximately 61 percent of the West Bank. The report reveals that lifting the restrictions on economic activity in Area C could have a large positive impact on Palestinian GDP, public finances, and employment prospects. Among other things, access to economic activity in Area C is expected to be a key prerequisite for building a sustainable Palestinian economy. However, full potential of the Area C could be materialized only if other restrictions on free movement of goods, labor and capital are removed and the overall business environment in Palestinian territories has become more attractive. The economic significance of Area C lies in that it is the only contiguous territory in the West Bank, which renders it indispensable to connective infrastructure development across the West Bank, and a relative abundance of natural resources situated therein. Area C offers large potential for the development of several sectors of the Palestinian economy: agriculture, stone and mineral processing, cosmetics, construction, tourism, and telecommunications. The report shows that access to economic activity in Area C could increase the Palestinian GDP by as much as 35 percent, the majority of this impact would stem from agriculture and Dead Sea minerals processing industries, as well as the multiplier effect, which has been estimated at 1.5. Although the importance of building connective infrastructure through Area C is discussed in the report, the quantification of this impact is beyond the scope of this report. An increase in GDP of 35 percent, although thought to be a conservative estimate, would be expected to result in at least $800 million increase in tax revenues for the Palestinian authority, which would drastically reduce its dependence on donor aid for financing chronic budget deficits.

This book offers the only comprehensive overview of the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza. It focuses on the unique features of this unusual economy during the last thirty years. Under Israeli occupation, the Palestinian economy suffered from poorly developed domestic labor and capital markets, and considerable dependence on the highly developed Israeli economy for employment, trade and financial resources. The book analyses past trends, present conditions and alternative arrangements for the future. A comprehensive data set is used and, for the first time, the public is presented with a detailed picture of the Palestinian economy, with tables and graphs. The authors propose new institutional arrangements between the Palestinian and Israeli economies - an economic filters plan - which will promote neither total integration nor total separation. The book will be of great value to anyone interested in the political economy of the Middle East, the economics of occupation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This book explores the political economy of Palestine through critical, interdisciplinary, and decolonial perspectives, underscoring that an approach to economics that does not consider the political—a de-politicized economics—is inadequate to understanding the situation in occupied Palestine. A critical interdisciplinary approach to political economy challenges prevailing neoliberal logics and structures that reproduce racial capitalism, and explores how the political economy of occupied Palestine is shaped by processes of accumulation by exploitation and dispossession from both Israel and global business, as well as from Palestinian elites. A decolonial approach to Palestinian political economy foregrounds struggles against neoliberal and settler colonial policies and institutions, and aids in the de-fragmentation of Palestinian life, land, and political economy that the Oslo Accords perpetuated, but whose histories of de-development over all of Palestine can be traced back for over a century. The chapters in this book offer an in-depth contextualization of the Palestinian political economy, analyze the political economy of integration, fragmentation, and inequality, and explore and problematize multiple sectors and themes of political economy in the absence of sovereignty.

This volume brings together the results of the symposium on ‘Economic Development under Prolonged Occupation’ held at Oxford University in January 1986. The basic aim of the symposium was to stimulate research and discussion on issues of economic development by a prolonged occupation. It brought together a number of development economists, representatives from development assistance organisations and other individuals engaged in one facet or another of social and economic development in the occupied areas. The papers presented here reflect the wide range of thought on the issues surrounding the Palestinian Economy.

The foundations for a viable, self-sustaining Palestinian economy have not emerged since the start of the Oslo peace process. Economic conditions in the Gaza Strip and West Bank have deteriorated markedly, leaving the Palestinian economy weaker now than it was in 1967 when measured against the advances made by other states in the region.The reasons for Palestinian economic decline are many but turn on one key issue: Israeli closure policy. Closure restricts the movement of labor and goods and distorts rational economic activity. Now a permanent feature of the local economy, closure has resulted in the physical and economic separation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and their separation from Israel, high unemployment, permanent unemployment for a growing segment of the labor force, a doubling of poverty levels, increasing child labor, constrained trade relations, and a growing need for relief and social assistance among Palestinians. Closure has devastated Palestinian economic growth and reform and has made it increasingly difficult for people to meet their basic needs. If closure continues to be enforced, the economic and political changes promised by the Oslo agreements and now so desperately needed in the West Bank and Gaza will not be possible

Much has been written about the Arab–Israeli conflict, the prospects for peace or war and the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state, side by side with the state of Israel. The emphasis, however, has been on the political processes of such eventualities. The objectives of this book complement these previous efforts, the central concern being with the economic aspects of these various solutions. In particular, it is concerned with the economic feasibility of a state of Palestine. What minimum conditions must be met for it to survive and prosper? What size population can it support, what boundaries should it have and what period of time must elapse before the full potential and viability of such a state can be realized? The book is set in the context of the general theory of the economic feasibility of small nation states and the economic analysis is illustrated by comparison and contrast between countries from various regions and periods. The authors look in turn at appropriate boundaries for a Palestinian state, the people and land that will constitute it, the potential of the economy in terms of income, employment and investment, and also the Palestinian state within the regional context and the implications of making the Palestinian economy a part of the larger region of the Middle East. A final chapter summarizes the findings and notes the areas which require deeper study to appreciate the economic viability of the Palestinian state.

"War, border closures, violence, and unemployment have hampered the Palestinian economy for over a decade. Despite these obstacles and setbacks, the future outlook is optimistic." Based on the research of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), the World Bank, and other organizations, 'Development Under Adversity' reviews the development of the Palestinian economy since the 1993 Declaration of Principles. The Palestinian economy has enormous potential. Its general development indicators, including life expectancy, literacy, and child mortality rates, are among the best in the Middle East and North Africa. The book identifies the conditions under which the Palestinian economy can grow. They include trade channels that reduce the economy's reliance on Israel; the creation of a more efficient civil service; more investment-oriented public expenditure; and more resourceful support from NGOs in the delivery of health, education, welfare, and infrastructure services. 'Development Under Adversity' provides historical background, an objective examination of recent economic and political developments, and a comprehensive analysis of the contribution that the donor community can make toward alleviating poverty. Throughout its analysis, the book focuses on the human consequences of economic uncertainty. It studies the social and household costs of border closures, and includes complete chapters about the education and health sectors. The result is a book that will be relevant to a wide range of institutional and private lenders, as well as to anyone with a general interest in the well-being and future of the Palestinian economy.

The volume brings together cutting-edge political economy analyses of the Palestinian people: those living in the occupied territory of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, those living within Israel, and refugees in Arab states. It is a must-read for those who wish to understand the historical origins and contemporary realities that face Palestinians.