The Lessons of Lebanon: The Economics of War

by Samir Makdisi

Overview

Since 1945, over 200 intrastate conflicts have taken place in countries that achieved independence from colonial rule after the second world war. The case of Lebanon offers a striking illustration of these interlocking influences on projects of national economic development. The persistently sectarian nature of the country's political institutions, the relatively poor quality of governance, and the major civil war that engulfed the country from 1975 to 1990, together define not only the context in which the achievements and failures of Lebanese development must be assessed, but also the continuing challenges that it must face in the era of globalization. This book offers an in-depth analysis of Lebanese economic development during the second half of the twentieth century with special emphasis on the civil war and its aftermath. Makdisi offers a definitive assessment of the principal phases of national development since Lebanese independence in the 1940s, and a study of those conditions requisite for sustainable development for Lebanon, as for many other developing countries

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784537708
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/16/2016
Series:	Library of Modern Middle East Studies
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Samir Makdisi is Professor of Economics, Chair of the Economics Department and Director of the Institute of Financial Economics at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He has served as Lebanon s Minister of National Economy in, as Deputy President of AUB and is presently a member of the Governing Board of the Global Development Network (Washington DC"

Table of Contents

List of figures vii

List of tables viii

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction 1

1 The period preceding the civil war: relative economic stability, growth, socio-economic gaps and underlying political instability 11

The political environment 11

Economic performance: quantitative aspects 14

Socio-economic development: qualitative gaps 23

A summary overview of development until 1975 28

Lebanon on the threshold of civil war 29

2 The war period, 1975-90; resilience versus fragmentation 31

Introduction: the phases of the civil war 31

On the causes and duration of the civil war: economic versus non-economic factors 36

The political/military environment and the constraints on national economic performance: a summary view 43

Economic and financial performance: impact of the war and the national response 45

Reflections on the war period 74

The attempted reconciliation: the Taif Accord 79

3 The post-war period: aspirations versus reality. 1 Political, background, growth and macroeconomics 90

Introductory remarks 90

The political context: a brief overview 92

Growth and the macroeconomic and financial situation 95

4 The post-war period: aspirations versus reality. 2 Labour market, governance and socio-economic issues 142

Labour market and wage policy 142

Fundamental issues of development: political governance and the socio-economic dimension of development 145

Aspirations versus reality: lopsided development 157

5 Lebanon, development and globalization: concluding reflections 160

Successes and failures of Lebanon's development 160

Domestic conditions for viable long-term reform 167

Lebanon and the global economy 171

Lebanon and small, open developing countries 176

Final comment 178

Notes 179

Bibliography 221

Index 231