State-Business Relations and Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa

This Ph.D. project inquires into the political underpinnings of economic development in the Middle East and North Africa, in particular the role of the relations between the state and the private sector. Many studies on emerging and developing economies in other world regions have stressed the role of entrepreneurs, state policies towards private businesses, and the institutions which shape state-business relations with respect to successful economic transformation. Taking into consideration the trend of economic liberalisation throughout the region as well as the widespread emergence of new economic elites, this research project assesses, on the one hand, the potential of private sectors to promote economic development. On the other hand, it contributes to the general debate on the developmental significance of state-business relations based on a comparative analysis of cases from the Middle East and North Africa.