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

by Amr Adly

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.

Genres: Economics, Egypt

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Allan Feldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read up to chapter six. Challenged myself with this one (tough read) but I learned a great deal about the missing middle syndrome in Egypt and why it came about. This book was much more a political economy book than anything else, which was heavy material but still useful. Helped me understand a bit more about the entrepreneurial ecosystem and its origins, which was my main goal in the end. I’m glad I got it suggested!