Big Question: Paths Out of the Wilderness

{
  "authors": [
    "Lahcen Achy"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [],
  "topics": [
    "Economy"
  ]
}

In The Media

Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Big Question: Paths Out of the Wilderness

Political stability, democratic governance, and human-rights protections are key ingredients of any forward-looking strategy to spur and sustain economic recovery.

By Lahcen Achy

Published on Mar 29, 2011

Source: World Policy Institute

Big Question: Paths Out of the WildernessThe international financial crisis showed that the actions of a few individuals can have quite detrimental global effects. Russia’s decision to ban exports of wheat last summer led to a price-hike in international markets and created food-security concerns. The absence of social safety nets in China leads to excessive saving and hurts the U.S. economy by discouraging spending on imports. Win-win solutions—sustaining the economic recovery while creating more resilient societies—will require policymakers to understand their interdependence and implement regional and international partnerships to address it.

These partnerships will need to go beyond basic economic-growth objectives and work on improving standards of living through education, employment, justice, freedom of expression, and political participation. Ensuring social security reinforces identity and creates a sense of belonging to a community, reducing the risk of uprisings that could threaten the recovery. Political stability, democratic governance, and human-rights protections are key ingredients of any forward-looking strategy to spur and sustain economic recovery.

About the Author

Lahcen Achy

Former Nonresident Senior Associate, Middle East Center

Achy is an economist with expertise in development, institutional economics, trade, and labor and a focus on the Middle East and North Africa.

Recent Work

In The Media
Arab States Need Industrial Policy Reform
- Lahcen Achy
Paper
The Price of Stability in Algeria
- Lahcen Achy

Economy

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Does Russia Have Enough Soldiers to Keep Waging War Against Ukraine?
The Russian army is not currently struggling to recruit new contract soldiers, though the number of people willing to go to war for money is dwindling.
Dmitry Kuznets
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Including Russia on the EU Financial Blacklist Will Hurt Ordinary People, Not the Kremlin
The paradox of the European Commission’s decision is that the main victims will not be those it formally targets. Major Russian businesses associated with the Putin regime have long adapted to sanctions with the help of complex schemes involving third countries, offshore companies, and nonpublic entities.
Alexandra Prokopenko
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Why Didn’t the Ukraine War Turn Russia’s Ruling Class Against Putin?
A new book by Alexandra Prokopenko looks at why the Russian ruling class became the regime’s willing servants—and how they might fare in a post-Putin world.
Vladislav Gorin
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
Collateral Damage: The Frozen Foreign Assets of Middle-Class Russians
The volume of frozen private assets might seem insignificant compared with Russia’s sovereign reserves, but these are the savings of millions of people who believed that foreign securities were a safe investment and in the institution of private property.
Yulia Starostina
Commentary
Carnegie Politika
The Kremlin Has Weaponized Western Financial Checks to Punish Russian Dissidents
International compliance and anti-money laundering standards are currently formulated in such a way that the Western financial system does not differentiate between Russian political prisoners and ISIS militants.
Alexandra Prokopenko

More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Does Russia Have Enough Soldiers to Keep Waging War Against Ukraine?

The Russian army is not currently struggling to recruit new contract soldiers, though the number of people willing to go to war for money is dwindling.

Dmitry Kuznets

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Including Russia on the EU Financial Blacklist Will Hurt Ordinary People, Not the Kremlin

The paradox of the European Commission’s decision is that the main victims will not be those it formally targets. Major Russian businesses associated with the Putin regime have long adapted to sanctions with the help of complex schemes involving third countries, offshore companies, and nonpublic entities.

Alexandra Prokopenko

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Why Didn’t the Ukraine War Turn Russia’s Ruling Class Against Putin?

A new book by Alexandra Prokopenko looks at why the Russian ruling class became the regime’s willing servants—and how they might fare in a post-Putin world.

Vladislav Gorin

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

Collateral Damage: The Frozen Foreign Assets of Middle-Class Russians

The volume of frozen private assets might seem insignificant compared with Russia’s sovereign reserves, but these are the savings of millions of people who believed that foreign securities were a safe investment and in the institution of private property.

Yulia Starostina

Commentary

Carnegie Politika

The Kremlin Has Weaponized Western Financial Checks to Punish Russian Dissidents

International compliance and anti-money laundering standards are currently formulated in such a way that the Western financial system does not differentiate between Russian political prisoners and ISIS militants.

Alexandra Prokopenko