Celebrating Economic Reforms in Egypt

A very interesting presentation by Egyptian Finance Minister at Cato talking about economic reform in Egypt. Some comments on the discussion;

1- Talking about debt to GDP ratios and statistical issues in general he commented, ‘You need to know your way in Egyptian institutions to be able to get calculations right’- I find this a very lamentable issue that one needs to know around Egyptian bureaucracies to get your economic statistics right.

2- Should we wait for a critical mass of reformers to develop to reap the benefit of reforms?

3- I thought his comments on how to make reforms irreversible insightful- a major challenge in the developing world.

4- I find it unacceptable his justification for sitting in the parliament and seeing no conflict of interest as a cabinet minister

5- Would economic liberalization bring in democracy to the Arabs?

6. In the Q&A session, talks about a wide range issues including pension reforms, PPPs, role of democracy, etc.

Listen to this podcast- very highly recommended.

Related;
How to Reform the Business Environment
Why Do Economies Grow?
Reformers’ Club