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Countries in the Middle East have very different economies, even if they are often grouped together. In The Economics of the Middle East, James Rauch focuses on the drivers of their distinctiveness, including the effects of their natural endowments, geographic locations, and interactions with the global economy. This book evaluates the socioeconomic trajectories of three groups of Middle Eastern States: Sub-Saharan African, fuel-endowed, and "Mediterranean." It compares these groups both to each other and to developing countries in other regions with similar characteristics. Rauch draws on basic approaches to economic development to enhance understanding of important issues, such how policies on gender, education, health, and the environment affect development. His comparative perspective sheds light on how and why the Arab countries, Iran, and Turkey have done better or worse than similar countries in other regions. His analysis throughout is supported by data that are well organized and clearly presented

Several studies suggest that production of high-quality output is a precondition for firms in less developed countries to participate in the export market. Institutional deficiencies that raise the costs of entry into high-quality production therefore limit the positive impact that trade liberalization can have on income or growth. Institutional reform that reduces the costs of entry into high-quality production and trade reform therefore have synergistic effects on income and, possibly, growth. In contrast, institutional reform that reduces the costs of entry into low-quality production (e.g., reforms targeted at small businesses) interferes with the impact of trade reform. The model that yields these results is also used to analyze impacts of foreign direct investment and of subsidies to entrepreneurship in the presence of unemployment.

Contents -- About the Authors -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1. Introduction: On the Formation and Decay of Interdisciplinary Boundaries / Joel Podolny and James E. Rauch -- Part I. The Economics Approach -- Chapter 2. Literature Review: The Study of Social Networks in Economics / Matthew O. Jackson -- Chapter 3. The Formation of Industrial-Supply Networks / Rachel Kranton and Deborah Minehart -- Part II. The Sociology Approach -- Chapter 4. Literature Review: The Formation of Inter-Organizational Networks / Toby E. Stuart

The establishment of a professional government bureaucracy in place of political appointees is an important component of an enabling environment for private enterprise. I show that internal promotion can help to bring to power individuals who highly value (relative to income) imposition of their preferences over collective goods on the public. Such individuals restrain the corruption of their subordinates as a byproduct of their efforts to implement their preferences using tax revenue. As a result, large‐scale and petty corruption tend to move together and both tend to be lower the longer the practice of internal promotion has been in place. JEL Classification: D73 Sélection des leaders, promotion interne, et corruption bureaucratique dans les pays en voie de développement. La mise en place d'une bureaucratie gouvernementale professionnelle pour remplacer les nominations politiques constitue un élément important pour créer un environnement porteur pour l'entreprise privée. On montre que la promotion interne peut aider à porter au pouvoir des personnes qui valorisent beaucoup la possibilité d'imposer au public leurs préférences quant aux biens collectifs (par opposition à la simple recherche de revenus personnels accrus). De telles personnes vont limiter la corruption de leurs subordonnés en cherchant à imposer leurs préférences dans l'usage des rentrées fiscales. En conséquence, la grande et la petite corruption tendent àêtre co‐reliées, et toutes deux tendent à décroître à proportion que l'on pratique la promotion interne.