Egypt’s Economic Crisis Is a Golden Opportunity
With inflation at 21% and the pound in free fall, Egypt has been shut out of international financial markets and forced to seek an IMF bailout. But rather than cutting food and fuel subsidies, the government should use this crisis to root out cronyism and reduce the military’s outsize role in the economy.
WASHINGTON, DC – Egypt is on the brink of a financial and economic abyss. The portfolio inflows that fueled its sovereign debt market have dried up, repeated currency devaluations have driven the Egyptian pound off a cliff, and inflation is at 21%, following the rapid erosion of the country’s foreign-exchange reserves.