In a new issue brief, Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Mohsin Khan contends that although political turmoil has dominated economic decision-making in the Arab transition countries and Jordan and Morocco during the last three years, there is some encouraging evidence that these economies will turn around in 2014.
Analyzing economic developments in the Arab transition countries, Khan notes that social unrest, higher oil prices, slower global growth, and regional spillovers resulted in sharp declines in gross domestic products and rising unemployment. To avoid another round of political upheaval, governments will need to balance policies to achieve macroeconomic stability and higher economic growth. Assistance from the International Monetary Fund and other international donors will help to stabilize the economies, but ultimately only market-oriented reforms that give a leading role to private sector will deliver the necessary growth rates to generate sufficient new jobs and improve standards of living.
Image: Image Credit: Wikipedia, Creative Commons