The effect of Arab spring movement on the Lebanese real estate market

Abstract

The Arab world is witnessing unprecedented movements that are reshaping the whole Arab region. These movements are called the Arab spring or “What People Want”. The purpose of this project is to study the effects of the Arab spring movements on the Lebanese economy in general and on the real estate sector in particular sinceLebanon belongsto the Arab region and its economy is very vulnerable to the events occurring in the region. The project is divided into five chapters. After a general introduction in Chapter I, I will analyze in Chapter II the Lebanese real estate and banking sectors and conduct a SWOT analysis. Chapter III explains the macroeconomics and microeconomics factors affecting the real estate market and the factors that lead to real estate price hikes. This chapter helps explaining why the Lebanese economy will be affected by the Arab spring movement in general and by the events in Syria in specific. Chapter IV shows how some economic factorspertaining to the Lebanese economy respond to the events related to the Arab spring movements and how severe the consequences can be if the region’s political instability continues. Finally chapter V offers concluding remarks and recommendations.