Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour’s government will have a good reason to claim that the economy is going in the right direction: the budget performance this year will not only be better than in 2014, it will also be better than the official budget, which is still pending in P

The Treasury’s books of accounts for 2014 are not finalised yet, and the figures of the 2015 draft budget are not yet awaiting the final approval by Parliament. However, preliminary estimates reflect a plan which, if adhered to, will allow fiscal performance to make additi

Economists in most countries of the world are busy calculating the benefits of the unexpected windfall to their economies as a result of the 50 per cent drop in the cost of imported petroleum. Economists in other countries are worried about the huge loss in revenues, and started

At a press conference convened in Washington, DC on November 18, 2014, the head of the IMF mission in charge of following up on the progress of Jordan’s economic reform programme, Kristina Kostial, said that the objective of the programme is to reduce public debt in a way t

During a relatively short period of time, the exchange rate of the US dollar rose sharply against the currencies of most countries of the world, especially the European euro and the Japanese yen. The main reason for this exceptional strength of the dollar is that the American ec

The general impression is that Jordan comes at the top of Third World countries that receive foreign grants to finance economic projects and support their budget. It is also believed that the US is the most generous donor to developing countries. Both assumptions are wrong. A

The speedy increase of the public debt, in Jordanian dinars borrowed from domestic banks, is bad enough, but not as risky as that in dollars borrowed from foreign banks. Default in repaying this debt is not possible as the government, through the Central Bank, has unlimited capa

Jordan’s economic and social landscape has plenty of problems seeking solutions. The easy side, which is preferred by opposing politicians and some press analysts, is the side of problems.

My attention was drawn to a strange press report by Al Arab Al Yawm newspaper, published on November 25, 2014, that said: “The Budget Department at the Ministry of Finance is considering the amalgamation of the Social Security Corporation (SSC) in the general budget of the