The Israeli Economy: A Story of Success and Costs (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World Book 111)

**An authoritative economic history of Israel from its founding to the present** In 1922, there were ninety thousand Jews in Palestine, a small country in a poor and volatile region. Today, Israel has a population of nine million and is one of the richest countries in the world. __The Israeli Economy__ tells the story of this remarkable transformation, shedding critical new light on Israel's rapid economic growth. Joseph Zeira takes readers from those early days to today, describing how Israel's economic development occurred amid intense fighting with the Palestinians and neighboring Arab countries. He reveals how the new state's astonishing growth continued into the early 1970s, and traces this growth to public investment in education and to large foreign transfers. Zeira analyzes the costs of the Arab-Israeli conflict, demonstrating how economic output could be vastly greater with a comprehensive peace. He discusses how Israel went through intensive neoliberal economic policies in recent decades, and shows how these policies not only failed to enhance economic performance, but led to significant social inequality. Based on more than two decades of groundbreaking research, __The Israeli Economy__ is an in-depth survey of a modern economy that has experienced rapid growth, wars, immigration waves, and other significant shocks. It thus offers important lessons for nations around the world. "Based on over twenty years of research, The Israeli Economy offers a broad survey and analysis of an economy that has grown at an extraordinary rate, has been subject to large external shocks, and that has been a part of extensive conflict throughout its history. The book focuses on four main themes: understanding the secret of the rapid growth of the Israeli economy, evaluating the cost of the Israeli-Arab conflict, studying Israel as a country subject to large external shocks whose effects can be tested, and examining the effects of neoliberal policy on economic performance and inequality. Originally published in Hebrew in February 2018, the book has been restructured and framed for an English-speaking audience, omitting many details meant for Israeli readers and focusing more on the lessons that people from other countries can draw from Israel as a case study. The book draws on data from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics and the Statistical Appendices of the annual Bank of Israel reports, as well as from the Israeli Parliament, the research center of the Knesset, and publications from US Congress. In The Israeli Economy, Joseph Zeira provides a comprehensive economic history of a country with an important role in the Middle East, arguing that it's impossible to understand the region without understanding Israel and its phenomenal success"-- Per l'editor In 1922, there were ninety thousand Jews in Palestine, a small country in a poor and volatile region. In the twenty-first century, Israel has a population of nine million and is one of the richest countries in the world. The author tells the story of this remarkable transformation, shedding critical light on Israel's rapid economic growth. The author takes readers from those early days to the 2000s, describing how Israel's economic development occurred amid intense fighting with the Palestinians and neighboring Arab countries. He reveals how the new state's astonishing growth continued into the early 1970s, and traces this growth to public investment in education and to large foreign transfers. The author analyzes the costs of the Arab-Israeli conflict, demonstrating how economic output could be vastly greater with a comprehensive peace. He discusses how Israel went through intensive neoliberal economic policies in recent decades, and shows how these policies not only failed to enhance economic performance, but led to significant social inequality. Based on more than two decades of research, this book serves as an in-depth survey of a modern economy that has experienced rapid growth, wars, immigration waves, and other significant shocks. It thus offers important lessons for nations around the world