The Egyptian Revolution and Post Socio-economic Impact

Abstract

The Egyptian revolution carries a challenging transition phase, starting out with problems such as low foreign direct investments (FDI), a high budget deficit, a high debt rate, a high unemployment rate, a high poverty rate, and a low standard of living. In addition, the budget deficit is expected to rise from 8.1% in 2009/10 close to 10% in 2010/11, as the interim government boosts spending to offset the impact of the political unrest. The temporary supply shortages that followed the upheaval, coupled with rising international prices of food and fuel have been adding to the pressure on the domestic price level since early 2011. Thus the inflation rate is expected to increase from 11.7% in 2009/10 to 13.4% in 2010/11. This paper tries to answer the following questions: How long will the transition period last? What are the drastic impacts on the political/economic conditions (after revolution), and also the social/sociological environment in Egypt? And what about these impacts within the governance framework? What effect does all that have on neighbourhood countries? At last, what are the solutions and remedies that can be suggested to overcome this period and start a new flourishing era? We are aiming to tackle these important topics and examine them through theoretical and descriptive study, hoping to come up with adequate answers and solutions.

Keywords: political, socioeconomic problems, governance, revolution

JEL Classification: O10, O11, O2