The Lebanon Economic Monitor provides an update on key economic developments and policies over the past six months. It also presents findings from recent World Bank work on Lebanon. It places them in a longer-term and global context and assesses the implications of these developments and other...

The election of President Michel Aoun in October 2016 after almost two and a half years of a presidential vacancy, and the subsequent formation of a national unity government have generated hope for the resuscitation of the political process in Lebanon. Nonetheless, the protracted Syrian...

The systemic failure of Lebanon's banking system and the collapse of the currency have resulted in a large, dollarized cash-based economy, worth an estimated USD 9.86 billion or 45.7 percent of GDP in 2022 (Special Focus: Gauging the Size of the Cash Economy in Lebanon). A pervasive and growing...

The Lebanon financial and economic crisis is likely to rank in the top 10, possibly top three, most severe crises episodes globally since the mid-nineteenth century. This is a conclusion of the Spring 2021 Lebanon economic monitor (LEM) in which the Lebanon crisis is contrasted with the most...

The scale and scope of Lebanon's deliberate depression are leading to the disintegration of key pillars of Lebanon's post-civil war political economy. Monetary and financial turmoil along with surging inflation continue to drive crisis conditions. Public finances improved in 2021 as spending...

The geo-economy presents Lebanon with challenges associated with being a nexus for regional fault lines and risks from its dependence on capital inflows. Despite markedly improved security conditions since the start of 2015, anxiety over regional turmoil and potential spillover effectspersist....

Lebanon's macro-financial conditions are currently under heavy scrutiny as the country faces increasing challenges. The risk profile for Lebanon is rising sharply in light of the convergence of a number of negative local and global factors, including global monetary conditions. Meanwhile, the...

Lebanon is in Crisis. While it is too early to gauge the economic impact of recent events, it is important to note that even prior to the eruption of the demonstrations, the World Bank projected a small recession in 2019; we now estimate that the recession will be deeper. There has been an...

The Lebanon Economic Monitor provides an update on key economic developments and policies overthe past six months. It also presents findings from recent World Bank work on Lebanon. It places them in a longer-term and global context, and assesses the implications of these developments and other...

The stalemate between domestic political forces continues to impede reforms while the ongoing Syrian conflict is imposing a security, political, and economic toll on Lebanon. The stalemate in the executive and legislative branches of government remains an impediment to reforms. Important bills,...