Unleashing the Digital Economy in Palestine Lifting Restrictions and Fostering Better Regulation
30 Nov 2016By: Carlo Maria Rossotto and Xavier Decoster
(This article is published originally at: http://thisweekinpalestine.com/?s=economy)
A World Bank report issued in February 2016 estimates that over the last three years the total accumulated revenue from the Palestinian mobile sector would have been over US$ 1 billion higher if the restrictions on this sector had been lifted. The associated fiscal losses of the Palestinian Authority (for the same period) are estimated at as high as US$ 184 million, counting non-collected VAT alone. This amount equals up to 3 percent of the GDP.
ايمن ابو الخير
هل نحن في مرحلة اجتياز الاقتصادي المهيمن القائم على أساس المصانع الكبيرة والشركات متعددة الجنسيات إلى عالم يقوم على حرية الاختيار، الذي سيتمكن فيه الكيانات الصغيرة من المنافسة مع الشركات الكبيرة،وبالتالي ستساهم في تشكيل اقتصاد المستقبل؟ هل نحن فعلا بصدد عبور الاقتصاد "التناظري" الحقيقي الى الاقتصاد الافتراضي، ام ان الانتقال سيكون من الاقتصاد الافتراضي الى الاقتصاد الحقيقي؟
Arab Knowledge Economy & E-commerce: Are we crossing the age of “analogue” to digital economy?
28 Oct 2016By Ayman Abualkhair
Are we in a stage of passing the dominant economic age, based on large factories and multinational companies, to a world predicated on freedom of choice, in which small entities would have the potential to compete with large companies, and hence shape the future economy? Are we crossing the age of a real economy to a virtual one, or is it moreover transitioning from a virtual economy to a real economy?
مجلة الشرق الاوسط للأعمال - ميدل ايست بزنس
هي ليست مجرد شجرة، يُستفاد من كل اجزاءها، تُغني زارعها، تشفي آكلها، وتحمي الأرض من تحتها وترفع اعمدة الحضارات فوقها... انها شجرة النخيل وثمارها من الرطب والتمر. جاء في القرآن الكريم:
﴿وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنشَأَ جَنَّاتٍ مَّعْرُوشَاتٍ وَغَيْرَ مَعْرُوشَاتٍ وَالنَّخْلَ وَالزَّرْعَ مُخْتَلِفًا أُكُلُهُ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالرُّمَّانَ مُتَشَابِهًا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَابِهٍ كُلُوا مِن ثَمَرِهِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ وَآتُوا حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ﴾(الأنعام141).
Palestinian Industrial Estates and Free Zones Authority announces the completion of PALOLEA Olive Leaf Extract factory at JAIP.
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Economy of Palestine The Palestinian economy is small and relatively open, although several large holding companies dominate some sectors. Because of the small size of the local market, access to foreign markets through trade is essential for private sector growth. Restrictions on the movement and access of goods and people between the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and external markets imposed by the Government of Israel continue to have a deleterious effect on the private sector and limit economic growth. During the second Intifada the Palestinian economy experienced the deepest recessions in modern history. In those two years, Palestinian real GDP per capita shrunk by almost 40 percent. The precipitator of this economic crisis was again a multi-faceted system of restrictions on the movement of goods and people. Nevertheless, the Palestinian economy continued to exhibit some degree continuity and resilience. The proliferation of small business projects and informal economic activities have contributed to it weathering and adapting to the difficult conditions. The services sector constituted the largest one in the West Bank economy in Q3/2014, accounting for 19.3% of GDP. This sector was followed by wholesale and retail trade (17.6%) and mining, manufacturing, electricity and water (16.4%). The services sector constituted the largest one in the West Bank economy in Q3/2014, accounting for 19.3% of GDP. This sector was followed by wholesale and retail trade (17.6%) and mining, manufacturing, electricity and water (16.4%). - See more at: http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/1695268E83B78ACA85257E20004E79EF#sthash.WD82sd9V.dpuf
In the Gaza Strip the largest sector of the economy in 2013 was construction, followed by services and public administration. Together, these three sectors account for more than 70% of total GDP. Productive sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing contribute relatively little to total GDP in the Gaza Strip. The West Bank and Gaza have both experienced economic progress since the Oslo Accords but structural differences between the two areas remain. Between 1995 and 2000, the Palestinian economy was growing at an average rate of 6% per year. If that trend had continued after 2000, when restrictions intensified, real GDP may have been more than double its current value to reach over $8 billion. Following a long-term trend, Gazan nominal GDP per capita in 2012, at $1,565, remains around half that of the West Bank ($3,196). While there are a number of common factors constraining development in both areas (e.g. limited access to water and energy, restrictions on movement and access, and poor infrastructure), such factors are significantly amplified in Gaza. Partly due to these restrictions, the slowdown in economic activity observed in 2012 was stronger in Gaza, where GDP growth fell from 21% in 2011 to less than 7% in 2012. Although Palestine has very limited natural resources, it still has a highly renewable human capital resource. 57% of the population under the age of twenty and the rate of 65% under the age of twenty-fifth means an increase in the labour force, including a total of 500,000 workers in the next five years. This is in addition to the potential inherent in the working women's race, which is considered a strategic reserve for the labour force. This tendency has its impact on the availability of young labour force and an incentive for more investments in the economy. Palestinian diaspora The estimated one million Palestinians who have emigrated since 1948 (as well as their children) serve as a vital lifeline for Palestinians who remain in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. As a percentage of its GDP, the Palestinian territories are one of the most dependent economies in the world on remittances. The latest data from IMF in 2010 shows US$ 431m being transferred by workers employed abroad.
Essential Information Area: 6,257 sq km (West Bank 5,879 sq km; Gaza 378 sq km).
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