Introduction*

At the start of the twenty-first century, the principal structural problems characterized by Charles Issawi in Egypt at Mid-Century (1954); over-population and poverty – remain. Despite a series of economic reforms and notable progress in human development, these twin features have continued to be associated with low income per head, weak capacity of savings, investment and export, as well as cumbersome bureaucracy and limited political participation. The task ahead which this volume attempts to explore is, therefore, enormous and the agenda for the twenty-first century is long.