Cleft Capitalism: The Social Origins of Failed Market Making in Egypt

Amr Adly

Published by Stanford University Press 2020

Cleft Capitalism

The Social Origins of Failed Market Making in Egypt

Amr Adly

In the series Stanford Studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic Societies and Cultures

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503612211

Overview
Contents

About this book

Egypt has undergone significant economic liberalization under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, USAID, and the European Commission. Yet after more than four decades of economic reform, the Egyptian economy still fails to meet popular expectations for inclusive growth, better standards of living, and high-quality employment. While many analysts point to cronyism and corruption, Amr Adly finds the root causes of this stagnation in the underlying social and political conditions of economic development.

Cleft Capitalism offers a new explanation for why market-based development can fail to meet expectations: small businesses in Egypt are not growing into medium and larger businesses. The practical outcome of this missing middle syndrome is the continuous erosion of the economic and social privileges once enjoyed by the middle classes and unionized labor, without creating enough winners from market making. This in turn set the stage for alienation, discontent, and, finally, revolt. With this book, Adly uncovers both an institutional explanation for Egypt's failed market making, and sheds light on the key factors of arrested economic development across the Global South.

Author / Editor information

Amr Adly is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the American University in Cairo and the author of State Reform and Development in the Middle East: The Cases of Turkey and Egypt (2012).

Reviews

Joel Beinin:
"Cleft Capitalism is a highly original analysis of what Amr Adly calls Egypt's 'successful transition to failed capitalism.' Based on extensive and sound research, it represents an important rethinking of the trajectory of Egypt's political economy since 1974 and a bold challenge to Washington Consensus economic policy orthodoxy."

Nathan J. Brown:
"Cleft Capitalism offers a lucid, rich, and new understanding of the course of Egyptian economic development. With his sophisticated understanding of Egyptian politics and society and refined economic analysis, Amr Adly not only helps us understand Egypt better, but offers a model of how to approach the contentious terrain of economic change in the developing world."

Robert Springborg:
"Amr Adly elaborates a novel explanation for underperforming economies of the Global South. Richly detailed, theoretically insightful, Cleft Capitalism is essential reading for anyone interested in the Egyptian, Middle Eastern, and other political economies."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Tables Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Acronyms Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
Chapter One. SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO FAILED CAPITALISM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter Two. BEYOND CRONYISM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
Chapter Three. EGYPT’S CLEFT CAPITALISM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	48
Chapter Four. THE ORIGINS OF CLEFT CAPITALISM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	71
Chapter Five. HOW CLEFT CAPITALISM CAME ABOUT Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	97
Chapter Six. EGYPT’S BANKING SYSTEM An Exclusive Club Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
Chapter Seven. EGYPT’S DESERT LAND Abundant Yet Scarce Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	152
Chapter Eight. BALADI CAPITALISM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Chapter Nine. DANDY CAPITALISM Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
EPILOGUE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	234
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	283

Language: English
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 336
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 17
Keywords: Capitalism; market integration; small scale establishments; baladi capitalism; dandy capitalism; crony capitalism; social coalition; institutions; capitalist transformation; missing middle

eBook

Published: June 9, 2020
ISBN: 9781503612211