Rich And Poor States In The Middle East

Book excerpt: While oil wealth has enriched some Middle East Arab nations, others that lack oil resources have remained poor and are looking now to their oil-rich neighbors for development assistance. This collection of studies on the economic, social, and political relationships between the haves and the have-nots in the Middle East focuses on Egypt-the largest state in the region-and on its prospects for change based on financial assistance from other Arab countries.The authors have many disagreements about the future of both rich and poor nations in the Middle East and considerable skepticism about the possibility of transforming Egypt, but they do agree that the future must be projected in the framework of a new regional order in which oil wealth, labor migration, and liberalized national economies are fundamental realities.