Etudes par pays volume 2, PDF, 346 p., 1,4 Mo - Femise

11873_02 Study D2: Poverty, Informal Sector, Health and Labour
exchange rate stabilized in the range between L.E. 3.35 -3.41 to US $1
from the third quarter of 1991 until the fourth quarter of 1998).
- The foreign reserves increased significantly from only 3.6 billion of US $
in 90/91 to 21.8 billion of US $ in 97/98, which meant a rate of increase
more than 500 per cent was achieved.
- The real GDP growth rate declined sharply in the first two years of the
economic reform program period to 1.9 per cent and 2.5 per cent,
respectively. However, starting 1993, the real GDP growth rate has
grown steadily, reaching 5.7 per cent in 97/98 (CBE, 1998).
- In terms of the budget deficit, there has been a significant decrease through
the period from 1990/91-1997/98, the overall deficit as a percentage of
GDP has declined sharply from about 18.2 per cent in 90/91 to only 0.06
per cent in 97/98. In fact, the reduction in the overall deficit was obtained
through both increasing the revenues and reduction in the expenditure.
(CBE, 1998).
- With regard to the privatization program, the first stage in the
privatization process, which started in May 1991, was to cut off subsidies
to the state-owned enterprises, followed by the removal of public
enterprises from direct ministerial control (Field, 1995). The three
hundred and fourteen public sector companies, were grouped (1991) under
twenty-seven holding companies (now reduced to sixteen), that became
responsible for all the affiliates in a particular sector (Road, 1997, and
Timewell, 1991). A wide-scale privatization program started eventually.
The process came almost to a halt in 1997.
However, the Egyptian economy has suffered, since 1997 three well-known
shocks.
- The first shock was Luxor massacre in November 1997, which negatively
affected tourism,
- the second shock was the Far East crises June 1997, which encouraged
imports from the far eastern countries and led to a massive outflow of
portfolio investments,
- the third shock was the sharp decline in the oil prices.
FONDAZIONE CENSIS
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