

Egypt has become an economic basket case since Mubarak was ousted - gasull
http://qz.com/101167/see-how-egypt-has-become-an-economic-basket-case-since-mubarak-was-ousted/

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dodyg
I am based in Cairo.

1\. Egypt's tourism sector got hammered after the revolution, especially in
the "Ancient Egypt" route. The beach based tourism remain high.

2\. Head of local governments keep changing every 6 months or so. The same
thing applies for Cabinet Ministers.

3\. Egyptian 25 Jan revolution lasted in full 18 days. It's quite short for a
revolution although the repercussion ripples.

4\. Basic infrastructure such as electricity and gasoline distribution got
affected which adds cost and uncertainty into manufacturing.

5\. There are tons of political motivated persecution such as the NGO trials
which really scared off Western investors.

6\. American Chamber of Commerce invited a hundred US businessmen for
investment and arranged them to meet President Morsi only to be evacuated the
next day after the Anti-Islam YouTube video.

7\. The whole MENA region got engulfed in revolution which really affects the
movement of goods and people.

8\. Investors from the Gulf really eyed the MB with suspicions. UAE officials
routinely publicize sharp comments against the MB.

Anyway, I expect the economy to bounce back strongly in the near future. I am
not Egyptian myself although I've lived here for many years. My country
Indonesia went through similar revolution 14 years ago and now we are a
trillion dollars economy.

~~~
gadders
I think freeing the terrorist that organised the Luxor attack didn't really
help tourism much:

[http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/muslim-
brotherhood-...](http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/muslim-brotherhood-
pres-frees-monster-in-brutal-luxor-massacre/)

~~~
patrickaljord
He also named a member of the terrorist group (Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya) that
organized the massacre to be the governor of Luxor:

* [http://disquietreservations.blogspot.fr/2013/06/morsi-picks-...](http://disquietreservations.blogspot.fr/2013/06/morsi-picks-former-terrorist-whose.html)

* [http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-morsi-is...](http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-morsi-islamist-20130620,0,7803521.story)

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na85
>Revolution generally isn’t good for business. So it shouldn’t be much of a
surprise to learn that the ouster of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak in
February 2011 didn’t exactly set up the Egyptian economy for a record-setting
growth spurt.

Indeed, it ought to be common sense that social and political upheaval means
people stop going to work so that they can protest, and therefore the economy
tanks.

Is there a dearth of newsworthy issues to write about or something?

~~~
johnchristopher
It's not only about people not going to work but about most of the investors
who can't take the risk to do business in a region where "Law" is changing too
fast and are uncertain. Same happened in Belgium three years ago when we had
no government. Of course some speculate about that economic down-sizing as
well.

~~~
coldtea
So what does the author try to say? People should bend over and accept
dictatorships and such, lest their economy takes a hit?

Compared to having the government you want and social justice, who the fuck
cares for "investors"?

~~~
roel_v
"who the fuck cares for "investors"?"

People who want a non-shitty economy so they can, you know, eat?

~~~
coldtea
Wrong and out of context.

See my complete question, not the butchered part you quote.

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roel_v
Huh? What do you think people would choose, not having a dictator and having a
government they chose, or having something to eat? I'm not saying that North
Koreans are enviable or that dictators are right, it's just that it's easy to
make off-the-cuff judgements over people who have to trade off today's reality
of having a crying baby because there is no food versus an abstract ideal life
with benevolent, competent leaders and ponies dancing under rainbows. I'm not
saying it's right, but I can imagine why some people in Russia long for the
days of socialism.

~~~
coldtea
> _Huh? What do you think people would choose, not having a dictator and
> having a government they chose, or having something to eat?_

I don't have to think about it personally, we have history to tell us.

People risk their LIVES to get rid of dictators -- compared to that their
economy (or even food) is of little importance.

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Mikeb85
Uncertainty is the single worst thing for investment. So it's really no
surprise that investors are avoiding Egypt, and that the economy is hardly
growing...

