While it is true that exaggeration is somewhat of a national trait, when it comes to congestion getting in or out of Beirut—and driving inside it—it often feels that no hyperbole is enough to describe the sense of despair evoked when inching forward in bumper to bumper traffic breathing in exhaust fumes and listening to…
Strategies, opportunities, and natural limitations to EV infrastructure in Lebanon
Based on discussions with the two Lebanese gas station network operators—Medco and IPT—it seems fair to describe the first step of the journey into this particular private-sector infrastructure construction as based on the understanding that electric vehicles will make their appearances in Lebanon sooner or later, and that the country could ill afford to fall…
Private sector embarks on creation of EV charging-point infrastructure
The most eye-catching developments in mobility involve cars. The world is filled with cars; many of us sit in these machines for inordinate lengths of time every day. Surveys done in recent years in the United States found that the average person might spend upward of 17,500 minutes per year at the steering wheel or…
Lebanon’s informal public transport system
Public transport is part of Lebanon’s mobility heritage, as is evident by our popular culture. In the song entitled “Ala Hadir el-Bosta,” the late Joseph Sakr sings of his love Alia’s pretty eyes while on a shared bus from Hammana to Tannourine, humorously describing the passengers who were with him—the song was composed by Ziad…
The importance of Lebanon’s macro and micro mobility
“Nobody ever saw a dog make a fair and deliberate exchange of one bone for another with another dog.” Adam Smith Online economic literature has no ready answer to the question of whether Adam Smith had a deep personal bond with a canine, nor if he was an expert on animal behavior by the standards…
Transport is transforming and Lebanon must keep up
When compared to political revolutions, it has never been exactly clear what economic revolutions entail nor how long they take. But it is clear that these economic revolutions combine multiple change and adaptation processes, whether one talks of periods of fundamental economic transformation as “revolutions,” beginning with the first agricultural revolution in the fertile crescent…
Groundhog Day
Some repetitions have become part of our routine; it is amazing what human beings can learn to accept. We have become used to daily power cuts, as the electricity switches back and forth between state supply and generator, and to water shortages in the summer and waiting for private companies to refill the tanks. We…
Reduce the gender gap in Lebanon’s finance sector to boost productivity and growth
Lebanon’s capital market needs a turbo boost. The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) has long been hobbled by the lack of companies listed, and the lack of associated opportunities. This is reflected in the BSE’s low market size—$9.2 billion—and in its performance. In 2018, the BSE was the fourth worst performing bourse in the world, down…
Attracting FDI to Lebanon
While Lebanon is seeking to attract significant foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in order to stimulate economic growth, the promotion of FDI is still lagging behind. Lebanon faces two main strategic marketing problems: an unclear positioning statement, and an ineffective promotion strategy. It is all too easy for Lebanon’s political leaders to blame regional instability…
The need to reform electronic money transfer regulations
All over the world, every day, millions of financial transactions take place at the press of a button. The words—and now the verbs—PayPal, TranferWise, and Venmo, are to payments what WhatsApp and Facebook are to messaging. Modern electronic money transfer (EMT) services have lowered transaction costs for individuals, facilitated business growth through e-commerce, and made…