To restore stability and credibility, the government must reform the central bank’s governance, tighten fiscal policy, and ultimately execute a carefully managed float of the lira.
In-Depth
Crude and Green: Energy Giants Scoop Up Lebanon’s Oil, Wind and Solar
Oversight absent as TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy take over the energy sector.
Houses Without Homes: Beirut’s Affordable Housing Crisis
How decades of real estate ‘financialization’ have built a city few can afford to live in.
Broken Branches: Lebanon’s Disappearing Forests
Rapid urbanisation, illegal logging, and wildfires whittling away at country’s wooded areas.
Crushed Ballot: Ending the Suppression of Lebanon’s Municipalities
Municipalities’ can reshape development and service provision in lebanon, if freed to represent their communities.
Public Disservice: Reforming Lebanon’s Regressive State Institutions
How politicians corrupted the civil service, and why now is the time for change.
Red Tape: Syrian and Palestinian Doctors Blocked from Easing Lebanon’s Health Crisis
Displaced doctors could provide relief amid health worker shortages
Cross Contamination: The Banking Interests Plaguing Public Office in Lebanon
Lebanon’s banks played a central role in driving the country into the financial catastrophe it has endured since 2019, and yet to date they have avoided legal sanction, regulatory reform, and efforts to have them bear their fair share of the financial burden. Where, one might ask, are the...
Washed Away: Don’t (Just) Blame the Rain
Decades of poor urban planning and waste mismanagement catalysts for flash flooding in Lebanon.
Rock Bottom: The Tax Reforms Lebanon Has to Have
The government’s inequitable revenue structures can no longer afford to keep burdening the poor while giving a free pass to those with the means to pay their share of taxes.
The Perfect Storm: Lebanon and European Countries Collude to Put Migrants at Risk
As the Lebanese political establishment tries to shift blame for sea migrant deaths, EU pushbacks, blockades, and backroom deals place migrants in greater danger
No More Fun and Games: Saving Lebanon’s Education System Before it’s Too Late
A complete rethink of Lebanon’s education sector could turn crisis into opportunity
Sex For The Few: The privileged economy of sex in Lebanon
How economics, state and sectarian forces keep sexual freedom out of reach for most Lebanese.
High-Stake Blaming: Lebanon scapegoating Syrian refugees for economic crisis
Tensions rise as Lebanon hypes non-existent “plan” to return 15,000 Syrians per month
Ignore the Mirage: Oil and gas will not save Lebanon
News of expected windfall revenues from Lebanon’s potential offshore gas fields require contain many hidden caveats.
Nowhere To Heal: The growing luxury of medical cover in Lebanon
Broadening private insurance ahead of universal health care.
Bucketing Down: A Principled Bail-In for Lebanon’s Overflowing Debts
How banking regulations can fairly allocate losses and avert future crises.
Force For Funds: Saving Lebanon’s Army From Financial Collapse
Only a Modern, Neutral and Sustainable LAF Can Survive the Economic Crisis.
Risky Business: How Syndicates Exposed Pensions To Lebanon’s Banking Crisis
The Urgent Need To Salvage And Reform Workers’ Retirement Schemes.
Plummet or Prosper: The Risks and Potential of Lebanon’s Productive Economy
How Farms and Factories Can Make or Break Lebanon’s Future.
Wake-Up Call: Economic Crisis Needs To Force Lebanon Towards A Green Recovery
Salvation From Accumulated Crises Can Only Be Through Sustainable Consumption And Production.
See You In Court: Foreign Legal Pressure Can Corner Lebanon’s Banking Elites
Pathways For Lebanese Depositors To Force Bankers Towards A Fair Deal.
Power to The People: It’s Time for Renewable Energy to Transform Electricity In Lebanon
Lebanese authorities’ persistent failure to meet the country’s energy needs has been a central symbol of state corruption and mismanagement.
Divided We Fall: Bringing Together Lebanon’s Opposition Movement
As Lebanon approaches another round of parliamentary elections opposition parties face old threats and new opportunities.
Adapt Or Trapped: The Urgent Need For Climate Change Adaptation In Lebanon
Climate change could ruin Lebanon; adaptation must be central to any recovery plan.
Breaking Point: The Collapse of Lebanon’s Water Sector
How Misplaced Aid, Elite Capture, And A Devalued Currency Are Causing Crisis In The Water Sector.
Breaking The Chains: Time For Justice in Lebanon’s Prison System
How Lebanon’s Prisoners Are Abused and Exploited as Tools to Perpetuate Clientelism.
Get In Gear: Unleashing the Potential of Lebanese Cooperatives
Lebanon’s short-sighted economy has chased profits for the few at the expense of the gener- al public, resulting in almost three quarters of wealth being owned by 10 percent of the population.
Unfair Game: Lebanon’s Rigged Markets Are Killing Competition
For decades, Lebanon’s economy has overwhelmingly served the interests of certain economic actors, who preside over widespread monopolies and oligopolies.
Breaking the Bank: Alternative Pathways to Lebanon’s Broken Banking Sector
How Credit Unions Can Bring More Accountability to Lebanese Finance.
Shake On It: A Fair IMF Package For Lebanon
Defaulting on Lebanon’s foreign-held debt may have patched up the country’s financial wounds, but it has not stopped the internal bleeding.
Going Hungry: The Empty Plates & Pockets Of Lebanon
The Fight to prevent hunger amidst pandemic and recession
Catch Up Time: Reforming Electronic Money Transfers In Lebanon
Lebanese banks and financial companies that provide electronic money transfer (EMT) services profit off consumers through transfer fees and hidden exchange rates that are nothing less than exploitative.
A New Financial Deal for Lebanon: Debt Relief and Well Designed Stimulus can Pull Lebanon out of Economic Malaise
Instead of continuing to support unaffordable housing prices, Lebanon’s central bank needs to lead a drive for public debt relief and remodel its stimulus packages to serve the public interest.