Trade among the Arab countries: directions, trends, and prospects, 1990-2004

Abstract

The thesis studies the directions, trends, and prospects of trade among the Middle Eastern Arab countries between the years 1990 and 2004. For analytical purposes the Arab region is divided into three sub-regions: the Levant states, the gulf Cooperation Council states, and North African Arab states. Improving economic performance in the Arab countries is seen, at the moment, more critical than ever, since the region faces high population growth rates, rising unemployment, and modest economic growth coupled with increasingly intense competition from emerging markets in Europe, America, and asia. to meet these challenges, the region is required to find ways to overcome economic and trade obstacles, and by implication political obstacles, that impede economic growth. The purpose of my thesis is to analyze the directions of trade among the Arab countries, and to propose ideas for better economic performance. Economic prosperity worldwide has been increasingly associated with expanding trade. The biggest economic blocs or spheres in the world, such as Europe, North America, and East Asia rely in large part on intra-regional trade for their prosperity and growth. The Arab region is an exception to this rule. as the analysis in this thesis show, intra-regional trade among the Arab countries constitutes a small percentage of the region 's total trade.