From political to economic awakening in the Arab World : the path of economic integration - a Deauville partnership report on trade and foreign direct investment : overview report (Arabe)
Résumé
The forces unleashed by the Arab political awakening have the power to be transformational. One critical parameter of success will be whether the Arab political awakening is accompanied by a concurrent economic awakening. Such an economic awakening would...
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The forces unleashed by the Arab political awakening have the power to be transformational. One critical parameter of success will be whether the Arab political awakening is accompanied by a concurrent economic awakening. Such an economic awakening would need to generate quality employment for the millions of young men and women who are looking for jobs and a decent life. In most Arab countries, it has become evident that the development paradigm of the past could not achieve the qualitative and inclusive growth expected by the population. The partnership launched initially by the G8 heads of State in Deauville, France, in May 2011 to support the historic political and economic transformation under way in the region is thus strategic and timely. The 'Deauville partners' include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and nine associated international and regional financial institutions. All have expressed their commitment to support the 'Partnership countries' currently engaged in political and economic transformation: Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. Economic integration through increased trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) is one key means available in the short to medium term to policy makers to put the Partnership countries on a higher path of sustainable economic growth and in a position to decisively tackle the problem of unemployment, especially youth unemployment. One implication of the emergence of global value chains as well as the experience of Partnership countries with past reforms is that the trade and investment policy agenda increasingly goes beyond the traditional domain of trade ministries to include many domestic behind the border policies and regulations. A corollary is that this new agenda spans a wide range of public policy areas that are the responsibility of other parts of government, including a variety of regulatory agencies. When an economic opening is not accompanied by domestic reforms to promote competition and transparency in the domestic market, by the reallocation of factors through market flexibility, and by the adjustment of relative prices, the effect is often to displace rents rather than reduce them. Under such circumstances, the gains from economic liberalization can be captured by a well-connected few. Deauville partners share with Partnership countries the responsibility for offering a clear, understandable, and ambitious vision for the Arab people as they pursue their democratic transition. The vision would be to help integrate the partnership countries into the world economy, including through the creation of a common economic space spanning the two rims of the Mediterranean and embracing the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as well.
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