(Financial Times-UK) Michael Peel - Some have called for a Marshall Plan for the Middle East, to help drag the region out of conflict and poverty. Yet, for all the proposal's compelling simplicity and appeal, there are big questions about whether it is either desirable or feasible, as well as who should pay. Western governments flailing through their own economic crises are not in a position to do much, and, in any case, close engagement is unlikely to go down well with their voters. Policymakers who are cool on a Marshall plan say the economic focus should instead be on narrower or smaller-scale initiatives, with a much greater emphasis on institutional reform.
2011-10-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive