event
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

The political economy of debt and adjustment in Tunisia, Egypt, and Lebanon

Fri. April 14th, 2023
Washington, DC

Several countries in the MENA region have been facing financial crises of unprecedented gravity. The MENA Commission on Stabilization and Growth Report describes how debt ratios started rising after the Arab Uprisings as fiscal policies became more expansionary, and how this was further precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the rise in global interest rates. The financial crises are especially acute in Lebanon, Egypt, and Tunisia, where external shocks have exacerbated deeply embedded structural weaknesses. The three countries have lost access to international capital markets, and financial pressures are leading to devaluation, fiscal austerity, and inflation. 

The discussion will focus on the politics of internal and external adjustments. How are these countries managing the crisis and considering distributing the burden of adjustment internally? What is the role of international financial institutions in these cases? How has the rise of the GCC impacted the oil importers in the region? What effects are adjustment policies having on state-society and state-business relations? What are the geopolitical implications of the debt crisis for the region? The Middle East Institute and the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center are pleased to invite an expert panel to discuss the latest report from the Finance for Development Lab and probe these questions.

Read the MENA Commission on Stabilization and Growth Report here. 

To better understand the financial challenges and the rise of debt ratios after Arab uprisings and how this was further precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the rise in global interest rates, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center and Middle East Institute are organizing a joint event on Friday, April 14 from 05:00 p.m. till 06:30 p.m. (EEST) and 10:00 a.m till 11:30 a.m (EDT) with Ishac Diwan, Timothy Kaldas, Mirette F. Mabrouk and Hamza Meddeb.

The discussion will be in English and moderated by Paul Salem. Viewers may submit their questions to the panelists using the live chat feature on Zoom during the event. For more information, please contact events@mei.edu. 

Please join our event through zoom.

Political ReformEconomyEgyptNorth AfricaTunisia
event speakers

Ishac Diwan

Ishac Diwan is the research director at Finance for Development Lab (FDL) at the Paris School of Economics.

Timothy Kaldas

Timothy E. Kaldas is a Policy Fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. His research focuses on transitional politics in Egypt, regime survival strategies, and Egyptian political economy and foreign policy.

Mirette F. Mabrouk

Senior Fellow and Founding Director of the Egypt Program, Middle East Institute

Hamza Meddeb

Fellow, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Hamza Meddeb is a research fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where he co-leads the Political Economy Program

Paul Salem

Director and Senior Associate, Middle East Center

Salem was director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon. He works and publishes on the regional and international relations of the Middle East as well as issues of political development and democratization in the Arab world.