ABSTRACT

The end of the twentieth century, the UN Report on the Arab economy summarized its conditions. Some historians would find such general reports absurd, as they would not accept the notion of an 'Arab economy'. There are general features which are highlighted by the exceptional economic conditions in the two non-Arab countries in the region, Israel and Turkey. Both Israel and Turkey have received aid in quantities that have enabled their economies to develop differently, and the economic policies of both have used foreign aid for their respective local agendas relatively efficiently. The money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and from private banks is handed over to Arab countries under conditions meant to accelerate the capitalization of the local economies. Middle Eastern cities at the end of the twentieth century were veritable hubs of multiculturalism; similarly the Middle Eastern presence in Europe has shaped the multiethnic features of most of Europe's cities.