Economics of the Middle East: A Comparative Approach

Economist James Rauch evaluates the socioeconomic trajectories of groups of Middle Eastern States in relation to each other and to countries with similar characteristics. This book places great emphasis on data. Data facilitate comparisons across countries. Data also check any tendency to make unsubstantiated claims, because we can examine whether the claims are backed by evidence. These features of data are helpful when we study a part of the world about which people have very strong opinions, though it would be naïve to think that

any scholarly approach can eliminate all biases.