Jordan had its golden era when the oil boom started in the mid-1970s, when its economy grew at an average of 16 per cent in real terms, between 1976 and 1980. Interestingly, in 1976, the unemployment rate in Jordan was 1.6 per cent; it grew ever since and is now structurally hin

Creative industries attract some attention from developing and emerging countries, especially since this sector has a higher average growth rate than the more traditional manufacturing industries. Jordan should look with great interest into truly clustering (creating critical ma

That more than half of the commuters in Amman use their own vehicles for transport in an energy-starved economy is a sign of an extremely weak public transport system. Given the drain on resources such an inefficient system creates, one wonders whether there are government plans

In preparation for a paper to be presented at the “Political, Economic and Social Transformations in Jordan: 1984-2014” conference of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Jordan University, I tracked data over 30 years on the real economic growth rate, debt, government

The energy debate is ever continuing in Jordan.

The Jordan Bar Association (JBA) recently amended its law, benefiting its members by further burdening SMEs, direct investment in Jordan whether local or foreign, and the general economic climate. The new piece of legislation sets fines on SMEs and forces them to incur additiona

At the time of writing this article (October 10, 2014) the price of crude oil is $85.82 per barrel (down from $92.4 per barrel seven days earlier), the lowest price since 2012. Jordan, being an importer of 97 per cent of its energy and on the verge of commencing many energy rela

The ruckus regarding the alleged discovery of gold in Ajloun two weeks ago has ebbed, but did not die. Unfortunately, such distrust and anger manifestly underscores the presence of a rentier mindset in the country, whereby the citizen expects welfare and gains without work or me

Amidst criticism that the government is forming 16 committees composed, on average, of 80 per cent government representatives and only 20 per cent private sector representatives (with some representatives belonging to several committees) to set the vision for economic development