Political Economy of Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment in Egypt

A major critique of the program of economic reform that has been transforming the political economy of Egypt over the last decade.. This book examines the character of Egypts economic crisis and the reforms promoted to ameliorate it since the mid-1980s focusing in particular on the period since 1991. Bush attacks the standard view of the causes of the countrys economic problems. He argues that it is based on a misunderstanding of the social organization and economic dynamics of rural Egypt and on a crude conception of the market as an instrument of economic progress. Bush draws on original research material based on interviews with international agency staff and surveys undertaken in four Egyptian villages to support his alternative perspective. This alternative stresses the importance of the household, rather than the farm, as the unit of social and economic organization, the different and varied strategies that households pursue, the central role of women, local responses to environmental problems and the significance of class and gender inequality in the countryside. These are all areas the international agencies and the Government of Egypt have ignored in their push for economic reform. }This book examines the character of Egypts economic crisis and the reforms promoted to ameliorate it since the mid-1980s focusing in particular on the period since 1991. Bush attacks the standard view of the causes of the countrys economic problems. He argues that it is based on a misunderstanding of the social organization and economic dynamics of rural Egypt and on a crude conception of the market as an instrument of economic progress. Bush draws on original research material based on interviews with international agency staff and surveys undertaken in four Egyptian villages to support his alternative perspective. This alternative stresses the importance of the household, rather than the farm, as the unit of social and economic organization, the different and varied strategies that households pursue, the central role of women, local responses to environmental problems and the significance of class and gender inequality in the countryside. These are all areas the international agencies and the Government of Egypt have ignored in their push for economic reform.This is an original contribution to work on Egypts politics and society with significant lessons to be learnt elsewhere in the developing world. The book importantly draws together strategies for economic liberalization with the relationship between Egypts state, society and agriculture. Bush concludes that the economic reform program is unlikely to sustain higher levels of agricultural output and economic growth and that it also fails to address environmental issues. The likely outcome of reforms will be greater inequality and social unrest. }