The Palestinian Economy

Book excerpt: This book offers the only comprehensive overview of the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza. It focuses on the unique features of this unusual economy during the last thirty years. Under Israeli occupation, the Palestinian economy suffered from poorly developed domestic labor and capital markets, and considerable dependence on the highly developed Israeli economy for employment, trade and financial resources. The book analyses past trends, present conditions and alternative arrangements for the future. A comprehensive data set is used and, for the first time, the public is presented with a detailed picture of the Palestinian economy, with tables and graphs. The authors propose new institutional arrangements between the Palestinian and Israeli economies - an economic filters plan - which will promote neither total integration nor total separation. The book will be of great value to anyone interested in the political economy of the Middle East, the economics of occupation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.