Introduction

In Chapter 1, Hassan Hakimian gives an overview of Middle East economics and its evolution since the middle of the last century. He argues that after a late and slow start in the postwar period, interest in Middle Eastern economies evolved over distinct phases, each of which reflected the general economic situation and the challenges and opportunities encountered by the region at that time. These included the oil booms of the 1970s, the ‘growth crisis’ and the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 1980s and 1990s, and the Arab uprisings in the 2000s. Each period inevitably left its indelible mark on the subject.