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Economics of the Arab awakening: From revolution to transformation and food security

Author

Listed:
  • Breisinger, Clemens
  • Ecker, Olivier
  • Al-Riffai, Perrihan

Abstract

Few observers would have predicted the dramatic changes over the past few months in the Arab world. Arab governments appeared to be in tight control, and many Arab economies were growing around or above the world average over the past few years. Annual growth rates in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, and Sudan averaged more than 6 percent between 2005 and 2010; and Syria, Tunisia, and Libya grew at about 5 percent on average during the same period of time. Official poverty rates in most Arab countries are lower than in many Asian and Latin American countries. However, experts have long identified slow progress in economic diversification and job creation, social inequalities, and persistent food insecurity as major development challenges for Arab countries. Did these factors and, more broadly, people’s dissatisfaction with their living standards contribute to the recent uprisings? At first glance, the sudden turn of events and the generally low coverage, quality, and accessibility of data in the Arab world make it difficult to find answers to this question. By looking beyond more conventional data, however, this policy brief provides some insights into the potential role of economics in the ongoing uprisings. It also reviews major policy responses of Arab governments and provides a new narrative of Arab development that is based on inclusive economic transformation, food security, and decisionmaking.

Suggested Citation

  • Breisinger, Clemens & Ecker, Olivier & Al-Riffai, Perrihan, 2011. "Economics of the Arab awakening: From revolution to transformation and food security," Policy briefs 18, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
  • Handle: RePEc:fpr:polbrf:18
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dhehibi, Boubaker & Telleria, Roberto & Aw-Hassan, Aden, 2013. "Impacts of Public, Private, and R&D Investments on Total Factor Productivity Growth in Tunisian Agriculture," 2013 Fourth International Conference, September 22-25, 2013, Hammamet, Tunisia 160584, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    2. Melani Cammett & Nisreen Salti, 2016. "Popular Grievances and Perceptions of Socioeconomic Conditions in the Arab Region Prior to the Uprisings," Working Papers 1006, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2016.
    3. Astrid Sneyers, 2017. "Food, Drought and Conflict Evidence from a Case-Study on Somalia," HiCN Working Papers 252, Households in Conflict Network.
    4. Elena I. Ianchovichina & Josef L. Loening & Christina A. Wood, 2014. "How Vulnerable are Arab Countries to Global Food Price Shocks?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(9), pages 1302-1319, September.
    5. repec:zbw:rwirep:0448 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Malik, Adeel & Awadallah, Bassem, 2013. "The Economics of the Arab Spring," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 296-313.
    7. Convery, I. & Robson, D. & Ottitsch, A. & Long, M., 2012. "The willingness of farmers to engage with bioenergy and woody biomass production: A regional case study from Cumbria," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 293-300.
    8. Ecker, Olivier, 2014. "Resilience for food security in the face of civil conflict in Yemen," IFPRI book chapters, in: Fan, Shenggen & Pandya-Lorch, Rajul & Yosef, Sivan (ed.), 2013 Global Food Policy Report, chapter 7, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Ansgar Belke & Christian Dreger, 2013. "The Transmission of Oil and Food Prices to Consumer Prices – Evidence for the MENA Countries," Ruhr Economic Papers 0448, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    10. Maystadt, Jean-François & Trinh Tan, Jean-François & Breisinger, Clemens, 2014. "Does food security matter for transition in Arab countries?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 106-115.
    11. Möller, Marie, 2011. "Economic voting and economic revolutionizing? The economics of incumbency changes in European democracies and revolutionary events in the Arab World," CIW Discussion Papers 10/2011, University of Münster, Center for Interdisciplinary Economics (CIW).
    12. Ansgar Belke & Christian Dreger, 2013. "The Transmission of Oil and Food Prices to Consumer Prices: Evidence for the MENA Countries," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1332, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    13. Monal Abdel-Baki, 2012. "A community-based framework for poverty alleviation: the case of post-revolution Egypt," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 39(2), pages 81-96, January.
    14. Engin Sorhun, 2012. "Is "Arap Spring" Turkey's Winter?," EcoMod2012 4347, EcoMod.
    15. Ansgar Belke & Christian Dreger, 2015. "The transmission of oil and food prices to consumer prices," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 143-161, March.
    16. Chowdhury, Mohammad Ashraful Ferdous & Meo, Muhammad Saeed & Uddin, Ajim & Haque, Md. Mahmudul, 2021. "Asymmetric effect of energy price on commodity price: New evidence from NARDL and time frequency wavelet approaches," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    17. Daniel Grabowski, 2016. "Causes of the 2000s Food Price Surge: New Evidence from Structural VAR," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201631, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    18. repec:fpr:2020cp:3(3 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. James A. Piazza, 2013. "The Cost of Living and Terror: Does Consumer Price Volatility Fuel Terrorism?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 79(4), pages 812-831, April.

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