Al Urdun Al Jadid  Research Center

The Jordanian Economy in its
Regional and International Frameworks

The Cover of the Book

This book consists of the working papers and the comments which were submitted to the conference of “The Jordanian Economy in its Regional and International Frameworks.” The conference was organized by the Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center, the Fredrisch Ebert Foundation, and Philadelphia University during the period from 26 to 29 May 1996 at the Royal Cultural Center in Amman.

The Minister of Planning, Dr. Rima Khalaf, deputizing for the prime minister in his capacity as sponsor of the conference, in addition to economic experts and academics from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Iraq and experts from the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America participated in the conference.

The book consists of 11 chapters. The first chapter dealt with the Arab economies: from international to regional transformations, regional developments and the world economic crisis. The second chapter deals with the Jordanian economy within the framework of the likely scenarios of regional alliances. The four subsequent chapters covered the following sectors of the Jordanian economy: Water, agriculture, industry, transportation, banking, the stock market, and foreign trade. The seventh chapter dealt with the requirements of the structural adjustment of the Jordanian economy. The eighth chapter dealt with the economic role of the state in a liberalized Arab economy (the case of Jordan). The ninth chapter focuses on the varying perceptions of the future relations among Jordan, Palestine and Israel. The ninth chapter reviews the works of the roundtable on “the Middle East and the future Arab economic cooperation and integration.” Finally, the eleventh and last chapter discusses the working papers of the conference’s preparatory committee.

These focuses open the door for researchers, decision-makers and persons interested in such topics to review and examine the various dimensions of the challenges which the Jordanian economy is facing within its regional and international frameworks. In fact, such a thorough presentation of the topics mentioned above makes this book a modern, indispensable reference on the Jordanian economy and the economies of the Arab region.