Political Economy of the Middle East - 9780813343488

In their political economy of the Middle East, Richards (economics and environmental studies, U. of California at Santa Cruz, US) and Waterbury (president, American U. of Beirut, Lebanon) focus on major thematic problems of social and economic transformation rather than focus on specific countries. Their analysis centers on the interaction of strategies of economic transformation, state agencies and actors seeking to implement said strategies, and social actors that react to and are shaped by the above, thus addressing questions of the nature of the state, the emergence of economic interests, and the effects of various development strategies. Individual chapters address economic growth and structural change; the impact of demographic change; health, education, and labor markets; water and food security; the emergence of the public sector; contradictions of state-led growth; the "Washington Consensus" and the market-state mix; urban political economy; political regimes as viewed by themselves and others; solidarism and its enemies; the military and the state; Islamism; and regional economic integration and labor migration. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)