Home OpinionCommentTime to act

Time to act

by Annalisa Fedelino

Lebanon has been severely affected by the Syrian crisis that erupted in early 2011. The signs are evident everywhere, starting from a massive refugee presence, which is now more than one quarter of the population and outstrips the ratio of refugees-to-population in any other country inside and outside the region. But while refugees are fleeing to many countries, the spillover from the regional conflict runs far more deeply in Lebanon, further weakening the economic foundations of the country. Growth has sharply decelerated, from an average of 8 percent during 2008-2010, to less than 2 percent since, well short of potential. Prospects for a rapid recovery are not promising, as traditional growth drivers – real estate, construction and tourism – have been negatively impacted by overall security conditions and political uncertainty. All of this has taken a toll on, among others, an already vulnerable fiscal position. Lebanon has been running large

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