The Egyptian Economy in the Twenty-first Century

"A collection of essays by many of the most distinguished social scientists working on Egypt today, this book provides a detailed and sobering picture of the country’s challenges after decades of negligent and inept economic management. . . . That said, no government of Egypt could ask for a better roadmap to a more hopeful future than the one outlined in these essays."—Foreign Affairs

"[A] highly readable account of Egypt’s economic situation and approaches to the twin challenges of providing its citizens with a better life and minimizing its vulnerability to external pressures. After Ikram’s extensive introduction summarizing the volume, 14 chapters—nearly all by Egyptian academics—discuss a wide array of issues, from demographic trends to higher education, urbanization to street children, water challenges to natural gas, and fiscal and monetary policies. . . . Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers."—CHOICE

"A tour de force! Ikram and Nassar have assembled leading experts on Egypt and have compiled a masterful collection of strongly analytic yet highly policy-relevant chapters on key aspects of the economy. Critical challenges are identified with acuity, and vital recommendations are offered to help steer future policies. An excellent contribution and a must read." —Danny Leipziger, George Washington University

"This book brings together articles by well-known experts on the critical areas of the Egyptian economy, both its current situation, and the near term outlook. It not only addresses the challenges that the economy is currently encountering, but also provides the analytical framework that will be needed to assess and respond to the likely unforeseen economic effects of the possible structural shifts in the global economy in the period ahead. The book is an important contribution to understanding the evolving Egyptian political economy and helps establish a sound basis for formulating the needed policy reforms to achieve Egypt's medium term objectives."—Zubair Iqbal, Middle East Institute

“This tour de force is a major contribution to development economics in times of unprecedented and accelerating change. The chapters in this book set out to explain why Egypt, despite its numerous physical and human assets, has so frequently underperformed its economic potential during the last sixty years. The way out is by abandoning the current zigzag of incoherent policies in favor of a human-resource-based strategy similar to that of the East Asian Tigers. The main message may be summed up in the words of Albert Einstein: 'We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.'”—Samir Radwan, Former Minister of Finance of Egypt