ABSTRACT

The implications of public and private monopolies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) have raised concerns amongst donors and international organizations, and within Palestine, amongst political groups and the private sector. These concerns have focused on how clientelism and rent-seeking may have induced the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to participate in the creation of harmful monopolies. As a result, the PNA has been accused of granting monopoly concessions on the basis of personal contacts, favouritism and kickbacks rather than efficiency considerations, and of establishing public import monopolies at the expense of the private sector. If true, such an analysis suggests that the monopolies and rentseeking sustained by the PNA wasted resources, retarded private investment and must have been at least partially responsible for the poor performance of the Palestinian economy.