Economic developments in the West Bank and Gaza since Oslo

The performance of the Palestinian economy in 1994-2000 was uneven, but for the period as a whole, real per capita income declined despite the mobilisation of substantial amounts of foreign aid and despite considerable progress in establishing a basic institutional framework. This paper argues that economic growth and private investment, in particular, have been adversely affected by closures, by uncertainties about political developments and the direction of policies and policy reforms, by problems of governance, and by the excessive transportation and transaction costs related to the intensification of the permits system.