The Economic Reform and Political Transition

The failures in the Arab development have strongly been attributed to a wave of protests that spread throughout most of the Arab region, popularly referred to as the “Arab Spring.” The Arab street seemed to have made clear that it is no longer willing to accept these models of reforms. To further understand the drivers and origins of the Arab Spring, this chapter contributes to investigating why Arab economies have failed to achieve sustained and inclusive development through evaluating the impact of socioeconomic reforms on economic performance. In other words, the chapter attempts to examine whether the performance of the region has been disappointing because ACs economies have lagged behind in terms of reforms or due to the reform programs themselves.