Combining Economic and Political Development

253 Pages·2017·1.437 MB·English

by  Giacomo Luciani

Combining Economic and Political Development
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International
Development Policy
Editor-in-Chief
Gilles Carbonnier (Professor of Development Economics, The Graduate
Institute, Geneva)
Guest Editor
Giacomo Luciani (Adjunct Professor of International Affairs, Graduate
Institute, Geneva and Scientific Advisor of the Master in International Energy at
the Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po)
Volume 7
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/idp
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Editorial Board
Marc Bacchetta (Counsellor, Economic Research and Statistics Division, wto)
Jean-François Bayart (Director of Research, Centre of Research and International Studies (ceri),
Sciences Po, Paris, France)
Carlos Casas (Professor of Economics, Head of the Economics Department, Universidad del
Pacifico, Lima, Peru)
Francis Cheneval (Professor of Political Philosophy, University of Zurich, Switzerland)
Suren Erkman (Director, Institute of Land Use Policies and Human Environment, University of
Lausanne, Switzerland)
Marcela Eslava (Associate Professor, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia)
Till Förster (Professor of Social Anthropology, Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Basel,
Switzerland)
Ricardo Fuentes-Nieva (Chief Executive Officer, Oxfam Mexico)
Inge Kaul (Adjunct Professor, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany)
Xiaoyun Li (Dean of the College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural
University, and Chief Senior Advisor, International Poverty Reduction Center, China)
Pamela Martin (Professor in Political Science and Geography, Coastal Carolina University, usa)
Katharina Michaelowa (Professor of Political Economy and Development, Institute of Political
Science, University of Zurich; Director, Center for Comparative and International Studies, Zurich,
Switzerland)
Hassan Mshinda (Director, Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (costech))
Patrick Osakwe (Chief, Africa Section, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(unctad))
Ugo Panizza (Professor of Economics, The Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland)
Dennis Rodgers (Professor of International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam,
Netherlands)
Jorge Alberto Restrepo Torres (Associate Professor, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota,
Colombia)
Elizabeth Sidiropoulos (Chief Executive, South African Institute of International Affairs (saia),
South Africa)
Mahaman Tidjani Alou (Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Law and Professor, Abdou
Moumouni University, Niamey, Niger)
James Zhan (Director, Division of Investment and Enterprise, United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (unctad))
Managing Editor
Frances Rice
Research and Communication Officers
Eliane Matti and Nurgul Tilenbaeva
Figure Layout
Marie Thorndahl
Copyeditor
Dave Brooks
Cover Photo
© Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuter
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Cover illustration: A general view of anti-Mursi protesters gathering at Tahrir Square in Cairo November 27,
2012. Opponents of President Mohamed Mursi clashed with Egyptian police on Tuesday as thousands of
protesters stepped up pressure on the Islamist to scrap a decree they say threatens the nation with a new
era of autocracy. Photographer © Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuter
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Luciani, Giacomo, 1948- editor.
Title: Combining economic and political development : the experience of mena
/ edited by Giacomo Luciani.
Description: Boston : Brill, [2017] | Series: International development
policy ; 7 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: lccn 2016053244 (print) | lccn 2017002038 (ebook) |
isbn 9789004336445 (pbk. : alk. paper) | isbn 9789004336452 (E-book)
Subjects: lcsh: Middle East--Economic policy. | Africa, North--Economic
policy. | Arab Spring, 2011-
Classification: lcc hc415.15 .c66 2017 (print) | lcc hc415.15 (ebook) |
ddc 338.956--dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016053244
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
issn 1663-9383
isbn 978-90-04-33644-5 (paperback)
isbn 978-90-04-33645-2 (e-book)
Copyright 2017 by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
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Combining Economic and
Political Development
The Experience of mena
Edited by
Giacomo Luciani
LEIDEN | BOSTON
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Contents
Foreword ix
Preface xi
List of Illustrations xii
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations xiv
Notes on Contributors xvi
1 Introduction: In Search of Economic Policies to Stabilise Democratic
Transitions 1
Giacomo Luciani
2 Reflections on the Arab Uprisings 22
Samir Makdisi
3 Rethinking the Rentier Curse 41
Adeel Malik
4 A Brief Political Economy of Energy Subsidies in the Middle East and
North Africa 58
Laura El-Katiri and Bassam Fattouh
5 The Political Economy of Distribution in the Middle East: Is There Scope
for a New Social Contract? 88
Steffen Hertog
6 Arab States as Shareholders: Origins and Consequences 114
Alissa Amico
7 Can Finance and Credit Enable Economic Growth and Democracy? 132
Bassem Snaije
8 Agriculture and Development in the Wake of the Arab Spring 144
Eckart Woertz
9 Mass Migration and Uprisings in Arab Countries: An Analytical
Framework 170
Philippe Fargues
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viii Contents
10 Egypt’s Economic Transition: Challenges and Prospects 184
Robert Springborg
11 Oil Rent and Regional Economic Development in mena 211
Giacomo Luciani
Index 231
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Foreword
It is my pleasure to introduce this new thematic volume of International
Development Policy (idp). The journal’s seventh annual issue focuses exclu-
sively, and for the first time, on the Middle East and North Africa (mena), a
region beset by armed conflict, social and economic turmoil and set against
the backdrop of lower oil prices and political uncertainty.
The volume explores the economic implications of democratic transition
efforts in the region since the start of the so-called Arab Spring in December
2010. It analyses the challenges facing governments in addressing the underly-
ing economic problems that have led to widening national and regional in-
equality and contributed to the initial unrest, while questioning the complex
relationships with Europe, the usa and the rest of the world. Importantly, the
volume highlights the value of short-term policy measures that may offer the
potential for quick and visible economic wins to help consolidate democratic
processes and strengthen institutional governance at critical junctures.
The volume consists of eleven chapters including an introduction by the
guest editor, prof. Giacomo Luciani. As he underscores, this collection of ar-
ticles pursues specific objectives while complementing the existing literature
on economic and political developments in the mena region. While acknowl-
edging policy priorities aimed at producing positive results in the long run,
such as public sector reform and economic diversification, there is a sense of
urgency when it comes to offering new opportunities to respond to the chal-
lenge of rising labour market demand, with a projected North African work-
force expected to grow by more than 80 million between 2010 and 2050.1 The
authors further insist on the imperative of seeking out and implementing in-
novative policies ‘that will allow for rapid improvement in the living condi-
tions of a majority of people and sustain consensus around the consolidation
of d emocracy’. These include measures such as the abolition of fuel subsidies
combined with a targeted system of unconditional cash transfers, and policies
that favour currency devaluation and reform of the banking sector to support
small-scale enterprises.
I commend Giacomo Luciani for pulling together a timely and thought-
provoking volume that brings together authors displaying a wide breadth of
expertise not only with regard to the highly complex challenges and problems
facing the region, but also with regard to potential economic policy measures
in support of inclusive development and democratisation. The volume thus
1 AfDB, oecd, undp (2015), African Economic Outlook, pp. xii–xiii.
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x Foreword
contributes to filling gaps in our understanding of how economic and political
development processes may support democratic transition in spite of adverse
political-economy dynamics. It also illustrates the broader intent that lies at
the heart of our journal which seeks to serve as a bridge between academic
research and policy making.
I extend special thanks to the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of
Sciences (kfas) and the Kuwait Program at Sciences Po, as the sponsors of the
conference that provided financial support and material for this publication.
I also underline my appreciation to Ghassan Salamé, the founding Dean of the
Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po (psia), as well as to two
anonymous peer reviewers for their insightful remarks and suggestions.
While I hope this collection will have particular appeal to new readers in
the mena region, I am confident that the volume will raise interest among
our regular readership of scholars and practioners elsewhere thanks to the rel-
evance and diversity of contributions on a region whose future bears central
importance to us all.
Gilles Carbonnier, Editor-in-Chief
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