United Nations Development Programme
POVERTY IN SYRIA: 1996-2004
DIAGNOSIS AND PRO-POOR POLICY CONSIDERATIONS
Heba El Laithy∗
(Principal Investigator)
Khalid Abu-Ismail
June 2005
∗
Heba El Laithy is Professor of Statistics at Cairo University and author of many publications on poverty and
inequality in Egypt.
Khalid Abu-Ismail is UNDP’s Regional Policy Advisor on Macroeconomics and Poverty Reduction at the SubRegional Resource Facility for Arab States (Bureau of Development Policy), Beirut.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
BMR
CBS
CBN
CPI
CSO
EU
FDI
FHH
FY
GDP
GNI
HDR
H.E.
HIES
HH
IFAD
INP
MHH
NFD
NGO
ODA
P0
P1
P2
PPP
SL
SME
SURF
TFP
UN
UNDP
WHO
-
Basal Metabolic Rate
Central Bureau of Statistics
Cost of Basic Needs
Consumer Price Index
Central Statistical Office
European Union
Foreign Direct Investment
Female-Headed Household(s)
Fiscal Year
Gross Domestic Product
Gross National Income
Human Development Report
His Excellency
Household Income and Expenditures Survey
Household
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Institute of National Planning
Male-Headed Household(s)
Net Foreign Demand
Non-Governmental Organisation
Official Development Assistance
Measure of Incidence of Poverty
Measure of Depth of Poverty
Measure of Severity of Poverty
Purchasing Power Parity
Syrian Lira
Small and Micro Enterprise
Sub-Regional Resource Facility for Arab States
Total Factor Productivity
United Nations
United Nations Development Programme
World Health Organisation
UNDP Syria
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY……………………...………….........….....1
INTRODUCTION……………………...………….........….....……….7
CHAPTER 1. THE SYRIAN ECONOMY IN EARLY 2000s……...10
1.1 Overview...…………..…………………………..……………..…………..….... 10
1.2 Growth and its Sources…...……………………..……………..…………..….... 12
1.3 The Poverty Growth Nexus…………..…………...……………………..…....... 16
1.4 Unemployment………………….………………...………………………...……18
1.5 Inflation and Fiscal Policy…………………………………………….…..….… 19
1.6 Trade and Foreign Direct...