The economy of Lebanon, 1950-2002 : what happened to the lebanese economic miracle ?

Abstract EN

Lebanon's current economic problems are the natural outcome of the unmanaged mercurial successes experienced in the 1950s through the mid 1970s, the traumatic consequences of the civil war that lasted 17 years, the massive and incoherent reconstruction effort that is still one of its dominant organizing principles.

Understanding the difficulties encountered in reconstructing the post-civil war economy and the resilience of the Lebanese economy in the face of imminent and real dysfunction is helpful in restructuring the economy and reconstituting the polity and society on more solid and sustainable foundations.

The paper examines the sources of past Lebanese economic growth , deals with the economic growth, deals with the economic causes and consequences of the civil war, and highlights the challenges, problems, and successes of post-war reconstruction and rehabilitation of the economy and society, one that is different from the current framework used by the three government that followed the civil war.