Exploratory Observations on Sustainable Growth and Development in the Arab States

Abstract

Using the most recent statistics from global databases and the most accepted definitions of sustainable growth and development, this paper makes three applied suggestions concerning the Arab region’s performance during the period between 1985 and 2010. First, with the exception of Egypt, no Arab state was able to achieve sustainable economic growth; second, the growth achieved in many Arab states was distorted from the perspective of structural transformation; and third no Arab state was able to achieve high human development when measured using the expanded human development index that includes freedom as a component, although some of them did register high scores on the traditional human development index. On this basis, the paper indicates the importance of reconsidering policies adopted in the Arab states.