Finance & economics | Free exchange

The Middle East’s economy is caught in the crossfire

Before the war in Gaza, it had been poised to boom

Illustration of a map of the Middle East behind smashed glass with a broken frame
Image: Álvaro Bernis

A month ago, on the eve of Hamas’s attack on Israel, there were reasons to be hopeful about the Middle East. Gulf states were ploughing billions of dollars of oil profits into flashy investments, building everything from sports teams and desert cities to entire manufacturing sectors. Perhaps, optimists thought, the wealth would even trickle down to the region’s poorer countries.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “A losing battle”

From the November 4th 2023 edition

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