L' economie libanaise et ses desequilibres

The Lebanese economy has changed since the influx of capital in the 1970s after the oil boom. It collapsed during the civil war; then came devaluation in 1992 and an explosion of the amount of money in circulation linked to enormous investments, particularly in property. According to the author, the economy has been on reprieve ever since, its foreign nature is more a handicap than an asset, engendering pernicious behaviour: a tenfold increase in the debt in 8 years, prices aligned with external markets, and upheavals in the labour market. He comes to the conclusion that the economy is inverted, the financial sector is the decisive cog and revenue is the real driving force. (Monde Arabe Maghreb/DÜI)