Lebanon Economic Monitoring Note, September 2012
The stalemate between domestic political forces continues to impede reforms while the ongoing Syrian conflict is imposing a security, political, and economic toll on Lebanon. The stalemate in the executive and legislative branches of government rem...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/736581468054669841/Lebanon-Economic-monitoring-note http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27076 |
| Summary: | The stalemate between domestic political
forces continues to impede reforms while the ongoing Syrian
conflict is imposing a security, political, and economic
toll on Lebanon. The stalemate in the executive and
legislative branches of government remains an impediment to
reforms. Important bills, regulations and appointments are
still pending in cabinet and Parliament. This deadlock could
well last until the June 2013 Parliamentary elections. The
Syrian crisis is fueling political divide among sectarian
lines in Lebanon, leading to sporadic violence incidents
across the country. These incidents have materially impacted
the economy, with sectors such as tourism strongly affected.
Politically, the turmoil has sparked social unrest and
overshadowed the reform drive. To tackle the situation, the
government devised a minimum political understanding to
restore order in the country. Political backing for a large
security operation has also been given; results have yet to
fully materialize. The fiscal deficit and public debt
positions remain major challenges for the Lebanese economy.
The fiscal deficit deteriorated somewhat during the first
half of the year. Notwithstanding this slight widening of
the fiscal balance, public debt continues its recent
downward trend. Rising international commodity prices and
the Syrian crisis are adding further pressure on both trade
and current account deficits. |
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