Includes bibliographical references and index.

Dimensions of the challenge. Addressing the challenge -- Growth, productivity, and welfare. Identifying the comparators. Natural resources and physical capital. Human capital. Relative international performance. Domestic growth over time. Investment and growth. Sources of differences in growth rates -- Welfare, happiness, and discontent. Social indicators. Happiness. Discontent -- Dimensions of the challenge. What are the perceived problems? Demographic changes. Employment generation and productivity growth. International trade performance. Dimensions of the problem. Foreign direct investment and financial inflows. Oil rents, aid, and remittances. Financial market development. Explanations of limited globalization. Some effects of lack of globalization -- Obstacles to, and enablers of, development. Institutions and the influence of Islam. Religious affiliation and growth across countries. Religion and institutions. legal systems and growth. Corruption and growth. Evolving understanding of development policy. Policies and their effects. An alternate view of the determinants of productivity growth -- Policy levers and constraints. Internal constraints to reform. The external policy dimension. The role of preferential agreements. Intra-Arab agreements. Club Med. Preferential agreements with the US -- Risk, credibility, and supply response. Domestic entrepreneurship. Reversing the brain drain. Arabs in North America. Arabs in Europe. The role of foreign investment. Asian experiences with diaspora and foreign entrepreneurs. Affinity, democracy, and risk -- Authoritarianism, uncertainty, and prospects for change. The political economy of reform. Implications for international exchange. Prospects for change -- Conclusions -- Defining the problem. Designing solutions. The political economy of reform.