Showing results 1 - 10 of 10
| Ishac Diwan
January 9, 2020, Opinion, "After years of maintaining a dysfunctional political economy based on sectarianism and rentierism, Lebanon's ruling elites are being confronted with simultaneous financial, economic, and political crises. The question now is how they respond to a reformist movement demanding fundamental change, including a new political settlement."
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| Ishac Diwan
2019, Book Chapter, "The paper is concerned about the future of state-business relations (SBRs) in the region, and about the potential for private sector growth. Can the new environment of heightened popular demands and lower oil prices encourage the political regimes in place to improve their efforts at boosting economic growth, even at the political risk of tolerating a larger private sector? I outline four types of relatively successful SBRs…
| Ishac Diwan
Crony Capitalism in the Middle East: Business and Politics from Liberalization to the Arab Spring. Ishac Diwan, June 2019, Book, "The popular uprisings in 2011 that overthrew Arab dictators were also a rebuke to crony capitalism, diverted against both rulers and their allied businessmen who monopolize all economic opportunities. While the Middle East has witnessed a growing nexus between business and politics in the wake of liberalization,…
| Ishac Diwan | Melani Cammett
Is Oil Wealth Good for Private Sector Development? Melani Cammett, Ishac Diwan, 2019, Paper, "When do autocratic rulers in oil-producing countries support private sector development? We argue that the size of oil rents per capita has an important effect on ruler support for the rule of law, respect for private property rights, and other factors that promote private investment. However, the effect is not linear, but instead resembles a U-curve:…
| Ishac Diwan
Debunking myth: economic values in the Arab World through the prism of opinion polls. Ishac Diwan, June 2018, Paper, "Using World Value Survey opinion poll data, we empirically characterize the economic values and norms held by individuals in the Arab world, in comparison to values held in the rest of the world. We find that, contrary to some common beliefs, there are many values that predispose citizens of Arab countries to be part of a market…
| Ishac Diwan
Pyramid Capitalism. Ishac Diwan, July 2015, Paper, "This paper uses an original database of 469 politically connected firms under the Mubarak regime in Egypt to explore the economic effects of close state-business relations. Previous research has shown that political connections are lucrative. The paper addresses several questions raised by this research. Do connected firms receive favorable regulatory treatment? They do: connected firms are…
| Ishac Diwan
Pyramid Capitalism: Cronyism, Regulation, and Firm Productivity in Egypt. Ishac Diwan, March 2015, Paper. "Using an original database of 469 politically connected firms under the Mubarak regime in Egypt, we explore the economic effects of cronyism. Previous research has shown that cronyism is lucrative. We address numerous questions raised by this research. Do crony firms receive favorable regulatory treatment? They do: connected firms are more…
| Ishac Diwan
Business Models for Commercializing African Agriculture. Ishac Diwan, 2014, Paper. "This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of various business models that can make agriculture behave more like industries--enjoying high levels of productivity irrespective of systemic challenges. The main idea is to supplement the uncoordinated and untargeted provision by the state of all the inputs needed to modernize agriculture, by the provision of…
| Ishac Diwan
The Missing Conversation: How to Build a Moral Capitalism in the Arab Region. Ishac Diwan, December 3, 2013, Opinion. "The Arab transition countries, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya, are grappling with complex issues relating to personal values, the extent of freedom of speech, individual rights, family matters, that all orbit around deep issues of identity and the respective roles of the individual, the state and society. These social…
| Ishac Diwan
A Political Economy of the Middle East. Ishac Diwan, 2013, Book. "This integrated, analytic text presents a comprehensive analysis transformation and development of the political economy in the Middle East over the past several decades. In this updated third edition of A Political Economy of the Middle East, the book retains its focus on the interaction of economic development processes, state systems, and social actors even as it also: Explores…