The slew of food safety incidents that have hit the national news ealier this month, following the discovery of tons of rotting meat in a Sabra factory, do not constitute…
Economics & Policy
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Headlines in the Lebanese press over recent weeks have been dominated by the mudslinging between politicians over the controversy surrounding some $22 billion in extra-budgetary spending. However, while the nation’s…
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Economics & PolicyLebanon 2013: The big ideas
Lebanon and outsiders: Time for some benign disassociation
by Tom Fletcherby Tom FletcherLebanon is presented with the most serious challenges it has faced in the past decade. The economy is struggling, the internal security situation is deteriorating and the country’s neighbors pose real threats. In…
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IMF steers steady An upswing in the tourism and retail markets will boost Lebanon’s real gross domestic product by 3.5 percent this year, according to an International Monetary Fund statement…
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The image of a typical state-owned enterprise (SOE) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is something akin to an elephant: cumbersome to maneuver and slow to adapt. This…
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Iraq is currently undergoing extensive transformation in its economic and legal sectors and relevant institutions. Arguably, the foundation of Iraqi restoration is based on two fundamental pillars which to date…
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Tensions between Iran and the world powers should prompt reconsideration of Iran’s 2003 letter to the United States proposing a ‘grand bargain’. Drafted by Sadegh Kharrazi, then ambassador to France,…
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Attempting to predict whether a war between Iran, Israel and the West will occur is an exercise in speculation akin to asserting that the uprisings in the Arab world will…
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An attack on Iran that blocks the Strait of Hormuz would clearly have an impact on the Gulf economies. But when it comes to the possibility of a Gulf conflict,…
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The oil crisis in 1973 saw oil prices quadruple, equivalent today to a jump from $125 to $500 per barrel at late February prices. If Iran is attacked and oil…