The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has one of the most centralized government structures in the world. In this paper, we examine the causes of decentralization in the region by conducting a cross-country regression analysis. We use panel data for a set of MENA countries to understand...

"This book is concerned with the political and economic obstacles encountered by states in the Middle East seeking to rebuild their national economies after their devastation by violent upheaval, or invasion. Economic devastation is at once the cause and the consequence of partial or total state...

This book analyzes the political obstacles to economic recovery, and the economic consequences of democratic political reforms. The contributors focus on rulers of shaky states where civil strife has caused economic devastation. If rebuilding requires regime change, are we asking these...