A Political Economy of Lebanon, 1948-2002 : The Limits of Laissez-faire / / Toufic Gaspard

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910783205803321
• Autore: Gaspard Toufic
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Leiden; ; Boston : , : BRILL, , 2004
• ISBN: 1-280-46780-0; 9786610467808; 1-4237-1427-X; 90-474-0257-X
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (313 p.)
• Collana: Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia ; ; 92
• Disciplina: 330.95692/043
• Soggetti: Economic development - Political aspects - Lebanon - History - 20th century; Economic development - Political aspects; Economic history; Lebanon Economic conditions 20th century
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: CONTENTS; List of tables; Preface; A political economy of Lebanon, 1948-2002: The limits of laissez-faire; Introduction; CHAPTER ONE OF SPONTANEITY AND DESIGN: THE MARKET AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; CHAPTER TWO THE ROAD TO LAISSEZ-FAIRE: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE; CHAPTER THREE GROWTH WITHOUT DEVELOPMENT; CHAPTER FOUR LAISSEZ-FAIRE AGAINST INDUSTRY; CHAPTER FIVE THE REPRODUCTION OF LAISSEZ-FAIRE; CHAPTER SIX FROM CRISIS TO RECONSTRUCTION; CHAPTER SEVEN CONCLUDING REMARKS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS; Bibliography; Subject Index; Author Index
• Sommario/riassunto: This book is about the laissez-faire strategy for economic development, a strategy inspired by neoclassical/mainstream economics, advocated by the "Washington Consensus", and implemented by the Bretton Woods institutions. Mainstream economics has taken legitimacy from the historical failure of command economies. But this view has not been balanced by an examination of the ; performance of laissez-faire economies, the closest to the pure market model. Lebanon provides a unique test case in this regard. The book assesses Lebanon's development during 1948-2002, including its industrial and financial performance. The dynamics of the laissez-faire system is separately studied from a Post-Keynesian perspective, highlighting institutional behavior. It is found that laissez-faire is not a sufficient condition for economic development, and can even be counterproductive.