Exploring the Industrial Sector in Light of The Economic Crisis in Lebanon

Abstract

Lebanon has been facing an unprecedented economic crisis since 2019 which has devastating economic and social implications for the whole Lebanese population. This crisis didn’t come from a vacuum, on the contrary, it is due to decades of implementing governmental public policies that obtained a service-oriented rentier business model for the economy and society, hence leading along with other deep root causes to the crisis we are enduring. Indeed, Lebanon witnessed in the post-TAEFF accord phase a huge balance of trade deficit in its monetary accounts that led to the depletion of massive amounts of dollars to exit the country to cover the huge amount of imports the Lebanese purchased whether for basic or luxurious needs. On the other hand, there was an absence of public policies for the development of industrial promotion in Lebanon due to the absence of political will on one hand, and to the conflict of interests of the ruling political and economic elite, as well as the central bank monetary and fiscal policies that favored this economic social attitude of consumption. Hence, here comes the importance of this project to fill the gap in the relation between the neo-liberal policies adopted since the 1990s after the TAEF accord with the decline of the industrial sector share and importance, along with the implications of that on the economy and society.

Then to answer my research question to what extent does the promotion of the Industrial sector (as a public policy approach) represent an efficient strategic reform for the Lebanese economic crisis based on a specific case study which is the success story of BEESLINE industrial company in Lebanon? In this project, I took a case study which is the BEESLINE company to show the capacity of Lebanese producers to increase their share in the economy and to provide some needs of the Lebanese population, and shed light on their work, especially after the economic crisis in the field of para -pharmaceutical industry. Also, I tackled in-depth interviews with the decision makers whether in the government or with international organizations delegates such as the IMF and WB, as well as interviews with economic experts in addition to interviews with the prominent figures of industry in several sectors.

The main objectives of this project were to shed light on the importance of the adoption of an industrial promotion strategy as a public policy approach in the economic reform plan of the Lebanese government based upon an analysis of the BEESLINE company case study from the Lebanese industry to show the challenges and opportunities this industry faced. And to show the need to diversify the business model in Lebanon from a service-oriented direction to a multi-direction in which a productive economy is rebuilt again. Also, to study the government executive reform plans and the legislative actions and measures adopted or needed to develop an industrial promotion strategy.