A History of Middle East Economies in the Twentieth Century

by Edward Roger John Owen, Şevket Pamuk

This important book on economic development in the modern Middle East examines, for the first time, the separate national economies of the Arab states, including the Gulf, Israel, and Turkey, from 1918 to the present. It describes the main trends within each economy based on the best available statistical data, and answers larger questions concerning the long-term growth of the countries, first in the colonial period, then in the periods characterized by planning and development, followed by the first steps toward liberalization and structural adjustment. It evaluates government policy in promoting the protection of imports and in advancing market economies. Policies employed by the oil-producing states to build new institutional structures based on near unlimited supplies of capital and labor are also examined. The Middle East economies are placed in their proper international context, and questions of colonialism and labor migration are discussed. The authors evaluate where the Middle Eastern economies are now, and speculate about how they may develop in the future.

Genres: History, Economics, Middle East

330 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 1999

Reviews

[Neil]

Roger Owen and Şevket Pamuk provide a substantial amount of data to thoroughly explain the economic development of the Middle East's countries and sub-regions. The portions of the book on Turkey were the most informative and interesting, as some political context and detailed explanations are presented. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for other parts of the book in which the authors provide little to no political context, making these parts a bit tedious to read. This book was recommended to me by a well known economic historian of the Middle East, but it did not meet my expectations because of how dull it is. At times, I felt like I was just reading numbers. The book also falls short on numerous topics that are important to the region's economic history. For example, the Yemen, where a unique, nominally socialist, system existed under the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen from 1967 until 1990, received less than four pages in the book. There was little discussion of economic inequalities minorities and other groups faced; the disparities Kurds faced are mentioned but not detailed or explained. It would have also been interesting for the authors to discuss the impact Jewish exoduses had on the region, especially in Iraq, where wealthy Jews comprised a merchant class until the 1950s.

[Liam Haller]

Wow I normally like dry textbooks, but this one was even too dry for me. Turkey and egypt sections were good but the rest lacked a narrative that was not data-driven.

[Ilana]

well crafted

[Jeremy Raper]

Drier than the Sahara at midday. I had to plough through this for a class; for pleasure readers, I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. For scholars and/or reference purposes only.