Routledge Handbook on the Middle East Economy

<p>This <i>Handbook </i>captures the salient features of Middle Eastern economies and critically examines the public policy responses required to address the challenges and opportunities across the region. Bringing together wide-ranging perspectives from carefully selected and renowned subject specialists, the collection fills a gap in this relatively young and growing academic field.</p><p>Combining discussion of theory and empirical evidence, the book maps out the evolution of Middle East economics as a field within area studies and applied development economics. Presented in six thematic sections, the book enables the reader to gain a comprehensive understanding of the region’s main economic themes and issues:</p><p>• Growth and development in comparative perspectives</p><p>• Labour force and human development</p><p>• Natural resources, resource curse and trade</p><p>• Poverty, inequality and social policy</p><p>• Institutions and transition to democracy</p><p>• Corruption, conflict and refugees</p><p>Providing an overview of the principal economic problems, policies and performances relating to the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, this collection will be a key resource for upper-level undergraduates, graduates and scholars with an interest in Middle East economics, applied development economics, development studies and area studies.</p> <p>1. Introduction <i>Hassan Hakimian </i><strong>Section I. Growth and Development in Comparative Perspectives </strong>2. Explaining Growth in the Middle East <em>Jeffrey B. Nugent </em>3. Is MENA Exceptional? Evidence from Structuralist and Comparative Perspectives <i>Julia C Devlin </i><strong>Section II. Labour Force and Human Development </strong>4. Arab Human Development in Comparative Context <em>Khalid Abu-Ismail and Niranjan Sarangi</em><em> </em>5. Private Returns to Investment in Education in MENA Countries <em>Aysit Tansel </em>6. Women’s Employment and Labour Force Participation: Puzzles, Problems and Research Needs <i>Massoud Karshenas and Valentine M. Moghadam </i><strong>Section III. Natural Resources, Resource Curse and Trade </strong>7. Can the GCC Economies Escape the Oil Curse? <em>Raimundo Soto </em>8. From Oil Rents to Inclusive Growth: Lessons from the MENA Region <em>Hassan Hakimian </em>9. Understanding Water Conflicts in the MENA Region: A Comparative Analysis Using a Restructured Water Poverty Index <em>Hatem Jemmali and Caroline A Sullivan </em>10. Trade and Economic Growth in the MENA Region: Do Trade in Goods and Trade in Services Differ in their Impact on Growth? <em>Fida Karam and Chahir Zaki </em><strong>Section IV. Poverty, Inequality and Social Policy </strong>11. Poverty and Vulnerability in the MENA Region <em>Khalid Abu-Ismail </em>12. Measuring Inequality in the Middle East<strong> </strong><em>Facundo Alvaredo, Lydia Assouad and Thomas Piketty </em>13. Inequalities in Early Childhood Development in the Middle East and North Africa <em>Caroline Krafft and Safaa El-Kogali </em>14. Social Policy in the MENA Region <i>Mahmood Messkoub </i><strong>Section V. Institutions and Transition to Democracy </strong>15.<strong> </strong>Religion and Politics: Why the West got Rich and the Middle East Did Not <em>Jared Rubin </em>16. Islam and Economic Development <em>David Cobham and Abdallah Zouache </em>17. The Arab Spring, and after: Economic Features and Policy Challenges <em>David Cobham and Abdallah Zouache </em>18. The Youth Bulge: The Mismeasured, Misunderstood and Mistreated Arab Youth <em>Zafiris Tzannatos </em>19. Arab Development and the Transition to Democracy <i>Samir Makdisi </i><strong>Section VI. Corruption, Conflict and Refugees </strong>20. A Pyramid of Privilege: How Cronyism Shapes Business-State Relationship in the Middle East <em>Izak Atiyas, Ishac Diwan and Adeel Malik </em>21. Refugees in the MENA Region: Historical Overview, Effects and Challenges <em>Jeffrey B. Nugent </em>22. Gendered Socioeconomic Impacts of Conflict in the Middle East <i>Jennifer C. Olmsted </i></p>