Heba Handousa and Noha El-Mikawy (eds.): Institutional Reform and Economic Development in Egypt. Bonn: Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey , and The Center for Development Research, 2001

This pioneering volume adresses the key issue of the relationship between politics and economics, with special reference to Egypt in the 1990s. Drawing on the expertise of both political scientists and economists, it assembles an impressive array of data, including detailed opinion surveys, to demonstrate conclusively that political and economic reform neet to proceed in tandem.

In an insightful analysis of the Egyptian legislature, the authors draw attention to a fundamental aspect of institutional reform, namely the informational and knowledge base of legislation as well as the organizational infrastructure of policy formulation. As regards Egypt's economic performance since the early 1990s, they focus in particular on impediments to improved export performance and offer solid recommendations as to how such obstacles might be overcome.

This stimulating study makes a timely contribution to political economic analysis, which may at the same time prove helpful in the formulation of new policies.

Heba Handoussa is Managing Director of the Economic Research Forum, Cairo, and is widely known for her contributions to the new development economics.

Noha El-Mikawy is Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Development Research, University of Bonn. Her earlier books, The Building of Consensus in Egypt's Transition Process, achieved considerable acclaim.