Growth, Investment, and Saving in the Arab Economies

36 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2006

See all articles by Mohamed A. El-Erian

Mohamed A. El-Erian

Salomon Smith Barney

Thomas Helbling

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Middle East and Central Asia Department

Date Written: July 1997

Abstract

Sustaining a high rate of economic growth is the major policy issue facing the Arab economies. A detailed analysis of growth, investment, and savings for the period 1971-96, including through a growth accounting exercise, shows that increasing long-run growth requires improvements in both investment and domestic savings. In the past, the Arab region`s growth was overly reliant on volatile external sources of funding, and total factor productivity growth was too low. The paper discusses the policy priorities to overcome the legacy of poor growth.

Keywords: Growth, Investment, Savings, Growth Accounting, Arab, Middle East, North Africa

JEL Classification: D24, E21, E22, N15

Suggested Citation

El-Erian, Mohamed A. and Helbling, Thomas, Growth, Investment, and Saving in the Arab Economies (July 1997). IMF Working Paper No. 97/85, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=882590

Mohamed A. El-Erian

Salomon Smith Barney ( email )

Citigroup Centre
33 Canada Square, Canary Wharf
London E14 5LB
United Kingdom
44 1 71 721 6272 (Phone)

Thomas Helbling

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Middle East and Central Asia Department ( email )

700 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
United States