Economic Policies, Structural Change and the Roots of the ‘Arab Spring’ in Egypt

Main author: Bargawi, Hannah
Format: Journal Article           
Online access: Click here to view record


id eprints-19253
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description This paper analyses the economic challenges facing Egypt in the post-Mubarak period, demonstrating the ways in which economic policy choices over the 2000s have contributed to the economic and social outcomes witnessed in the run up to the 2011 uprisings. The article investigates three specific policy areas and demonstrates their role in reducing employment opportunities, eroding wages and facilitating the creation of an increasingly unequal economic and social structure in Egypt. The three policy areas addressed by the article are (i) the general misplaced fiscal focus on expenditure-reduction rather than revenue-enhancement and the lack of progressive revenue growth; (ii) the manipulation and use of subsidies in Egypt to appease the populous instead of fostering employment generation; (iii) the failure to adequately promote employment-intensive investment.
format Journal Article
author Bargawi, Hannah
author_facet Bargawi, Hannah
authorStr Bargawi, Hannah
author_letter Bargawi, Hannah
title Economic Policies, Structural Change and the Roots of the ‘Arab Spring’ in Egypt
publisher De Gruyter
publishDate 2014
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/19253/