Lebanon

Lebanon is a small, high-middle-income country located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea with an area of 10,452 km2. It has a population of 4.1 million and a sizable diaspora of several million (The World Factbook). Lebanon is highly urbanized where over 85% of the population lives in cities and about half lives in the capital Beirut. It is also the most water-abundant country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which is considered the driest region of the world.

The World Bank Group plays an important role in shaping Lebanon’s development agenda and aims to assist the country in overcoming its economic challenges especially during the various political events it has faced in the recent past.

BIC has worked with Lebanese civil society organizations in monitoring and engaging the World Bank to make their voices and demands heard since 2010. These interactions have led to some early successes in ensuring early access to country strategy documents, facilitating engagement between Lebanese civil society and Bank officials and strengthening local knowledge about the Bank’s activities in the country.

Download BIC’s country study to find out more about the work of the World Bank Group in Lebanon:

The World Bank Group and Lebanon: A Country Study, Bank Information Center, September 2012 (PDF, 1MB)

 

Lebanon suffers from several development problems such as high levels of unemployment, poor basic services, high levels of inequality and a vulnerable economy. While these are important and urgent issues, they are symptomatic of broader challenges that represent the root causes of these issues in particular and hinder the country’s development process in general. For example, corruption and a lack of transparency in the public sector often lead to inefficient policies in the area of public services, which translates into poor services for Lebanese citizens. This section provides a brief overview of these key challenges.

The World Bank identifies the two challenges below as the most pressing challenges currently facing Lebanon:

Maintaining a prudent approach to economic management

Although the Lebanese economy did not witness a decrease in growth rates during the most recent international financial crisis, the country remains vulnerable to external shocks due to very high public debt and a large budget deficit. The Bank argues that careful fiscal management and good monetary policies are important for maintaining trust in the financial sector and managing risk and exposure to global crises (World Bank).

Implementation of key structural reforms

While proper fiscal management is necessary for creating long-term growth in Lebanon, it is not enough to sustain this growth potential. According to the Bank, implementing structural reforms to address the root economic causes will help in creating jobs and promoting long-term sustainable growth. Structural reforms in the water, energy and private sectors specifically will improve the business environment in Lebanon and lead to long-term growth in the Lebanese economy (World Bank).

Beyond those mentioned by the Bank, some of the other challenges that pose a threat to development in Lebanon include:

Sectarian politics

Sectarianism underpins political life in Lebanon and ultimately affects economic decisions and people’s daily lives. This model while highly representative from some perspectives often results in years of bottle-necked decisions. Many argue that real development cannot be achieved in this environment where the interests of groups override the interests of the nation. Effective social and economic changes are only possible if those benefitting from development efforts are fairly represented in the decision process and national interests are prioritized. As such, it could be argued that sectarianism in Lebanon is non-conducive to effective development, and serious political reforms are needed if concrete development outcomes are expected.

Non-holistic approach to development

Effective development policies cannot ignore the prevalent social conditions in a given country particularly in the more underdeveloped regions of the country. While economic reforms and prudent fiscal management may be necessary to achieve growth in the Lebanese economy, social reforms are as necessary to ensure that the growth is equitable and sustainable, especially since social development is given little attention in Lebanon. Great efforts are needed in this area to make the development process more meaningful for the Lebanese people. Social conditions should be accounted for and integrated into every step of the development process including in policies, projects and measurement indicators. It is also very important to involve stakeholders representing the concerns and grievances of development targets in these processes, be it those affected communities themselves or in certain cases members of broader civil society such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academics. One should also consider that although there are over 7,000 civil society organizations registered in Lebanon, only around 600 are actually thought to be active (Al Akhbar). This necessitates the strengthening and training of select organizations that are able to effectively engage in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development initiatives.

Corruption

Corruption constitutes a major hindrance to development in Lebanon. It is particularly prevalent in the public sector where political and sectarian interests take precedence over the general public interest resulting in inefficient policies, stalled processes and negative development impacts. Corruption also poses a threat to the private sector where there is a lack of a regulatory and monitoring framework in place. The absence of clear governance structures and accountability mechanisms further exacerbates the problem of corruption, as communities are not able to raise their concerns and grievances around development initiatives that might involve corruption. Serious reforms are then needed in the areas of governance and accountability. While ensuring greater transparency and better development outcomes, this will also serve to encourage more investments in Lebanon.

Official Webpages

World Bank Lebanon country page (World Bank website)
IFC Lebanon country page (IFC website)

Civil Society Analysis

The World Bank Group and Lebanon: A Country Study, Bank Information Center, September 2012 (PDF, 1MB)
IFIs and the Middle East & North Africa: A Primer for NGOs, Bank Information Center (PDF 617 KB)
BIC’s Middle East & North Africa Program, Bank Information Center (PDF, 56 KB)
CSO Position Paper on the World Bank Group’s CPS for Lebanon, World Bank Working Group, October 14, 2010 (PDF, 585 KB)

World Bank Country Office

Bourie House 119, Abdallah Bayhum Street
Marfaa- Solidere P.O. Box 11-8577
Beirut, Lebanon 1107 2270
Phone: +961-1-987-800
Fax: +961-1-986-800
Contact: Mona Ziade
E-mail: mziade@worldbank.org

 

IFC Field Office

Bourie House 119, Abdallah Bayhum Street
Marfaa- Solidere P.O. Box 11-8577
Beirut, Lebanon 1107 2270
Phone: +961-1-987-800
Fax: +961-1-987-601
Contact: Thomas Jacobs, Senior Country Officer
E-mail: TJacobs@ifc.org

 

Regional Contact Persons

Lara Saade
Communications Officer (World Bank)
Middle East and North Africa
E-mail: LSaade@worldbank.org

Riham Mustafa
Communications Officer (IFC)
Middle East and North Africa
E-mail: RMustafa@ifc.org