Area C and the Future of the Palestinian Economy

Restrictions on economic activity in area C of the West Bank have been particularly detrimental to the Palestinian economy. Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory. Area C is richly endowed with natural resources and it is co...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Niksic, Orhan, Eddin, Nur Nasser, Cali, Massimiliano
Format:	Publication
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC: World Bank 2014
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING AGRICULTURE AREA BANKING SERVICES BARRIER BARRIER TO ENTRY BENCHMARK BENCHMARKS BINDING CONSTRAINT BLUE CAPITAL INVESTMENT CENTER CENTRE COLLATERAL COMMAND COMMODITY COMMODITY PRICE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE COMPETITIVENESS CONSUMER GOODS CONSUMER PRICE INDEX CONSUMERS CONTIGUOUS COUNTRY MARKETS DEPOSITS DERIVATIVES DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIES OF SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT EQUIPMENT EXPECTED RETURNS EXPORT GROWTH EXPORTER EXPORTS FINANCIAL SERVICES FISCAL DEFICIT FORECASTS FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FOREIGN EXCHANGE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT GROWTH POTENTIAL GROWTH RATE GROWTH RATES HOUSING HOUSING PRICES INCOME INEFFICIENCY INFLATION INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INTERNATIONAL BANK INVENTORY INVESTING INVESTMENT CLIMATE INVESTMENT RATES INVESTOR CONFIDENCE JOINT VENTURES JURISDICTION LAND PRICES LAW ENFORCEMENT LEGAL AGREEMENTS MARKET VALUE MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES MONETARY FUND MULTIPLIER EFFECT NATIONAL ECONOMY NATURAL RESOURCE NATURAL RESOURCES OPEN ECONOMY OPPORTUNITY COST OUTPUTS PENALTIES POSITIVE EFFECTS POTENTIAL INVESTMENTS POTENTIAL INVESTORS POTENTIAL OUTPUT PRIVATE CAPITAL PRIVATE INVESTMENT PRIVATE PROPERTY PRIVATE SECTOR GROWTH PRODUCTION COSTS PRODUCTION INPUTS PRODUCTIVITY PUBLIC EXPENDITURES PUBLIC INVESTMENTS PUBLIC SERVICES RAPID GROWTH RATE OF GROWTH REAL ESTATE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT REAL GDP REAL GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT REFORM PROGRAM RESERVE RESERVES RETURN SECURITY CONCERNS SECURITY CONTROL SECURITY RISK SETTLEMENT TAKEOVER TAX TAX COLLECTION TAX REVENUES TELECOMMUNICATIONS TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSPORT UNDERESTIMATES UNEMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATES UNION URBAN SERVICES VALUE ADDED VOLATILITY WAGES WATER SUPPLY
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/07/19798093/area-c-future-palestinian-economy http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18930

Description
Summary:	Restrictions on economic activity in area C of the West Bank have been particularly detrimental to the Palestinian economy. Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory. Area C is richly endowed with natural resources and it is contiguous, whereas areas A and B are smaller territorial islands. Mobilizing the area C potential will help a faltering Palestinian economy. Since area C is where the majority of the West Bank's natural resources laid, the impact of these restrictions on the Palestinian economy has been considerable. Thus, the key to Palestinian prosperity continues to lie in the removal of these restrictions with due regard for Israel's security. This report shows that rolling back the restrictions will bring substantial benefits to the Palestinian economy and can usher in a new period of increasing Palestinian gross domestic product (GDP) and substantially improve prospects for sustained growth. This report examines the economic benefits of lifting the restrictions on movement and access as well as other administrative obstacles to Palestinian investment and economic activity in area C. It focuses on the economic potential of area C and does not prejudge the status of any territory which may be subject to negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. The authors examine potential direct, sector-specific benefits, but also indirect benefits related to improvements in physical and institutional infrastructure, as well as spillover effects to other sectors of the Palestinian economy. Realizing the full potential of such investments requires other changes as well - first, the rolling back of the movement and access restrictions in force outside area C, which prevent the easy export of Palestinian products and inhibit tourists and investors from accessing area C; and second, further reforms by the Palestinian authority to better enable potential investors to register businesses, enforce contracts, and acquire finance.

Area C and the Future of the Palestinian Economy

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