Why Has Globalization Eluded the Middle East
Abstract
An increasingly held view is that many of the economic and social problems confronting most Middle Eastern countries stem from their failure to become more integrated into the global economy. The benefits of globalization are widely documented. As noted in a recent World Bank report: Globalization generally reduced poverty because more integrated economies tend to grow faster and this growth is usually widely diffused. As low income countries break into global markets for manufactures and services, poor people can move from the vulnerability of grinding rural poverty to better jobs, often in towns or cities. In addition to the structural relocation, integration raises productivity job by job. Across the globe, free markets and trade have helped defeat poverty, and taught men and women the habits of liberty. So I propose the establishment of a U.S.-Middle East Free Trade Area within a decade, to bring the Middle East into an expanding circle of opportunity, to provide hope for the people who live in that region.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA524482
Entities
People
- Robert E. Looney
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School