Cronyism and Job Creation in Lebanon

The interest in the relation between power and money has risen sharply in the MENA region following the uprisings of 2011. The most recent World Bank Enterprise Survey shows that three-fifths of firms identify corruption as a major constraint for growth in Lebanon. Being more competitive as well as more sectarian than most MENA countries, the Lebanese political economy context can thus furnish useful variations since the boundary between cronyism and corruption. This study aims to improve the understanding of why job creation is limited in Lebanon by studying the micro foundations of firm-level employment growth with novel research and analysis on employment growth at the firm and detailed sector levels.