How homes for the displaced can lay the foundation for a more affordable, equitable, and resilient housing system
Policy
Policy Papers
A Generation in Limbo: Redefining Refugee Policy in Lebanon
As the tide of war subsides, Lebanon needs a rights-based solution to govern the Syrian refugee crisis
Running from Disaster: A Roadmap for Rescuing Lebanon’s Telecoms and Electricity Sectors
Reform of state-owned enterprises is both possible and necessary, starting with electricity and telecoms.
Don’t Let It Burn: Lebanon’s Last Chance for a Progressive Deposit Recovery Plan
Reckless profiteering and the banking sector’s insolvency demand a bold deposit recovery plan to restore financial integrity in Lebanon.
Onwards and Upwards? The Lira’s Treacherous Route Ahead
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.
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
The Alternative’s investigation of Lebanon’s banking sector reveals conflicts of interest behind the country’s financial and political masters
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 worker’s 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.
Carrots And Sticks: How Sanctions and Principled Aid Can Bring Lebanon’s Politicians to The Table
Sanctions and principled aid can pull Lebanon back from the abyss – but only by targeting the banking sector and carefully monitoring the state’s role in aid distribution
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.
Coming Clean: Time to Open Lebanon’s Chamber of Banking Secrets
How Lebanon’s banking secrecy laws facilitate tax dodging and harm the national economy.
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.
Position Papers
Flatline to Pulse: Prioritising Reform and Recovery in Lebanon’s State-Owned Enterprises
Reforming Lebanon’s state-owned enterprises is key for national recovery.
Redeeming Lifesavings: The Progressive Deposit Recovery Plan
The Progressive Deposit Recovery Plan offers an opportunity for accountability and the redemption of the Lebanese people’s lifesavings.
Exchange Rate Mis-Regulation: A Nation Short-Changed
The Lebanese financial crisis, driven by fiscal mismanagement and central bank interventions, has resulted in market distortions and multiple exchange rates, worsening economic disparities.
Ministry of Finance Budget Circulars November – December 2022
Summary and analysis of circulars and decisions issued by the Ministry of Finance and Banque Du Liban from November to December 2022
Saade Chami’s Financial Reform Plan: Another Tool To Disregard Accountability
The Financial Recovery Plan appears to solve Lebanon’s financial crisis, but a closer look reveals it’s a tool to preserve elite interests at the expense of depositors’ savings.
Restructuring Lebanon’s Banking Sector And Financial System: A Long Way To Go
Lebanon’s draft laws aim to reshape its financial landscape, yet ambiguities may hinder complete restoration of confidence in the sector.
The New Banking Secrecy Law: An Advance But Not A Victory
Lebanon’s updated banking secrecy law is progressing towards reform, yet riddled with ambiguities and potential for power abuse.
Unfinished Business: Distributed Renewable Energy in Lebanon
The MOEW’s latest renewable energy draft law faces criticism for consolidating power, with experts pushing for reforms to decentralize the sector and break the EDL monopoly.
From Bail-out To Bail-in: Distribution Of Losses And Accountablity In Lebanon’s Financial Plan
Lebanon must transition from a depositor-funded bail-out to a just bail-in, holding those responsible for the financial crisis accountable and ensuring fair loss distribution through international standards and local laws.
Capital Control: Concealing Corruption
Lebanon’s capital control proposal risks entrenching financial corruption by granting banks undue amnesty and empowering a politically biased committee.
Salvaging Syndicates: How to Defend and Strengthen Lebanon’s Pension Funds
In light of Lebanon’s economic turmoil and pension crisis , how can we safeguard the retirement savings of Lebanese citizens?
A Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign Against Entities Impeding a Fair Solution to Lebanon’s Financial Crisis
Exploring financial crimes in Lebanon, depositors’ pursuit of justice, the BDS campaign against banking elites, and the challenges of money recovery.
Reviving Lebanon’s Public Transport: Overcoming Political Roadblocks and Crafting Inclusive Solutions for Sustainable Mobility
In the midst of Lebanon’s public transport challenges, we try to envision a diverse and inclusive system that unites citizens and transcends political divisions.
Revitalizing Lebanon: A Progressive Socio-Economic Manifesto for Transformation
Exploring Lebanon’s socioeconomic frailties and policy solutions: Confronting rentier capitalism and crafting a fairer future.
Compromised Judiciary: The Struggle for Justice and Human Rights in Lebanon
Understanding Lebanon’s compromised judiciary, the challenges to judicial independence, and the impact on human rights, using two case studies: freedom from torture and the right to own property.
Bolstering Labour Movements: Lessons from Independent Unions in Lebanon
Navigating the legal restrictions and political co-optation of organized labor in Lebanon.
Talking Points
Lebanese State-Owned Enterprises: Navigating Reform and Recovery
A roadmap for state-owned enterprises reform in Lebanon, emphasizing transparency, good governance, and rejecting the controversial ‘Sovereign Fund’ to steer towards economic stability.
Rescuing What’s Lost: Progressive Deposit Recovery Plan
The Progressive Deposit Recovery Plan offers a lifeline for Lebanese depositors, aiming to recover and restore funds once deemed lost in the country’s financial turmoil.
Currency Chaos: Lebanon’s Exchange Rate Policy
Assessing Lebanon’s exchange rate chaos: Sayrafa, monetary governance reforms, and the need for a managed float of the lira.
Lebanon’s 2022 Budget: Harsh Realities of Tax Reform and Government Intentions
Lebanon’s 2022 budget’s has a preference for regressive taxation, potentially shielding the wealthy while financially straining ordinary citizens.
Bank Restructuring in Lebanon: Depositor Protection, Clawbacks, and Legal Loopholes
Addressing Lebanon’s banking turmoil through lirafication debates, accountability for large deposits, clawbacks, bankruptcy laws, and potential conflicts of interest in governance.
Rhetoric or Reform: Lebanon’s 2022 Financial Recovery Plan
Analyzing Lebanon’s 2022 Financial Recovery Plan, from its ambitious promises to critical flaws in depositor compensation, fund structure, wealth legitimacy checks, and the glaring lack of accountability.
The Updated Banking Secrecy Law: A Step Forward with Lingering Loopholes and Challenges
Assessing Lebanon’s revised banking secrecy law and its progress, while pointing to its loopholes, need for independence, and effective enforcement mechanisms.
Lopsided Fallout: The Crisis of Financial Loss Distribution
Exploring Lebanon’s loss distribution dilemma, focusing on banks using depositor funds to cover losses, evasion of accountability standards, and the urgent need for bank restructuring.
Controlled Chaos: Analyzing Lebanon’s Capital Control Policy
Analyzing Lebanon’s capital control laws, highlighting issues like illegitimate withholding of funds, conflicts of interest in regulatory bodies, depositor discrimination, and the need for stringent, fair amendments.