Jordan is one of the most important countries of the Fertile Crescent. Although it is not richly endowed with material resources its political significance in the region gives it considerable authority. This book focuses on the economic development of Jordan over the last decade. It analyses the structural changes the economy has undergone and examines the experience of the key sectors. It also looks at the contribution of foreign aid and emigrant workers’ remittances to the economy. The book concludes that there is a significant potential for the Jordanian economy but the current political and economic problems facing it are daunting. First published in 1987.

This book, a comprehensive study of twelve of the economies of key countries of the Arab world, has three main objectives: to record the developmental achievements and failings of each country; to examine the main issues arising in the drive for development; and to assess the future outlook for development for each country. Most of the countries studied only gained independence from their colonial masters in recent decades, and the process of economic development has necessarily been accompanied by political development. First published in 1978.

R. Paul Shaw has travelled widely in the Arab world, obtaining data and gathering impressions first-hand from national and local planners. In this book, he identifies population and manpower problems that are likely to become more serious and more difficult to solve if they are neglected at this early stage of Arab development. He focuses on five broad areas which are directly or indirectly related to mobilizing human resources, and his book will be of special interest to all those who are concerned with such issues as population, migration, employment, inequality, the emancipation of women, construction and agriculture. Dr Shaw proposes policy directives which are sensitive to the problems as they are seen by the Arab governments themselves, and sets out practical guidelines which can be used by Arab planners and policy-makers. An important feature of the book with respect to current literature on Arab development is that it moves away from a preoccupation with growth-related investments to a concentration on development-related population, manpower and employment issues. By bringing together such comprehensive empirical and bibliographic information, it will also be invaluable as a reference source for some twenty Arab countries. First published in 1983.

Not one size fits all. Yet, some books teach business with minimal focus on the context for business. In reality, firms — large and small — are highly affected by the context in which they operate; yet, context is not uniformly conceptualized, theorized, and operationalized by scholars of business and management. While most theories have come from developed countries with bountiful contexts, the diverse contexts of Western Asia are little understood. Religious factors are profoundly dominant in Western Asia, and businesses in this diverse area operate with considerations that are rarely considered in research. This book reveals a variety of schools of thought that have molded several business models and mechanisms, which are, to some extent, different from the context of Western economies.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region. Despite undertaking economic reforms in many countries, and having considerable success in avoiding crises and achieving macroeconomic stability, the region’s economic performance in the past 30 years has been below potential. This paper takes stock of the region’s relatively weak performance, explores the reasons for this out come, and proposes an agenda for urgent reforms.

Independently commissioned by IAI, the three studies comprising this book examine inter-Arab industrial and economic cooperation. The first chapter analyses the industrial strategies, economic policies and attempts at harmonisation and cooperation of the Arab countries, providing a detailed picture of the convergences and divergences, the potential and the difficulties faced by the region. The second chapter examines the importance of coordinating economic polices if economic integration is to be sustained, and considers the implications to the world economy. Lastly, the third chapter examines Arab labour flows, a key factor in the development of the Arab countries. First published in 1979.

Pre-eminent among the requisites for economic integration is monetary integration. It is the premise of the chapters in this book that if the Arab world is to achieve a closer degree of cooperation in economic and political spheres, the issue of monetary integration must be given much more attention. To this end the contributors to this book, who include well-known academics and economic experts from the Arab countries, Europe, the USA and Latin America, have looked at the experience of other areas of the world which have introduced monetary unity. They consider the experiences of Western Europe, Latin America and Western Africa, evaluating them with the objective of focusing on the various major issues which have to be coped with when planning for closer monetary cooperation. While the analysis concerning the scope for future Arab monetary integration revealed varying positions as to the factors which should be stressed and the pre-requisites which should be fulfilled, there emerged general agreement on certain major issues including the following: at the present time the Arab countries should strive to achieve partial rather than full monetary integration and to create the requisite conditions for such a move; economic and monetary integration should be viewed as mutually reinforcing rather than as successive processes; and the political will to achieve integration is a major pre-requisite for any move in that direction. First published in 1981.

The Arab world increasingly falls into two divisions, the capital-poor and the capital-rich countries (where capital means, in essence, oil). In the capital-rich countries shortage of labour is the chief constraint on growth. In the capital-poor countries analysis of the labour market is equally central, as shortage of labour compounds the already existing problem of shortage of capital. This book surveys the labour markets of the Arab world state by state, evaluating them by demand and supply analysis, and analysing the different elements in trends of employment. It forecasts the areas of stress in the next decade and suggests ways of minimising them. The book, based on much previously unpublished information and on extensive on-the-spot research in the respective Arab countries, sets out the economic and social conditions which underly the impending crisis of development in the Arab region. First published in 1980.

The Arab countries are increasingly recognising their importance as a regional economic grouping. Given the highly skewed distribution of natural, human and financial resources, the course of economic development in the Arab countries seems to be interrelated. Through pooling their resources and markets these countries will not only be able to optimise investment decisions but also broaden the potential for development. This book argues that economic integration is not merely a question of reducing or eliminating discriminatory measures, as emphasised in previous integration attempts. It calls rather for a positive action based on a regional investment strategy which coordinates production programmes, to reap the benefits of specialisation and scale. The book focuses on past industrialisation efforts in the Arab countries and examines the emerging patterns of industrial growth. A pioneering attempt is made to identify specific industries whose economic viability can be enhanced by conceiving them on a regional basis. The book concludes by framing a strategy for an integrated industrial development in the Arab region. First published in 1982.