The Financial Crisis of 2008 - 2009 and the Arab States Economies

摘要

This paper will examine the impact of the global financial crisis on the Arab counties during the period (2008-2009). The paper has shown that increasing inter-connected world economic and financial matters means more effects on countries with high exposure to the rest of the world. The study finds that the various economies of the Arab countries were impacted by the crisis. The impacts varied between the Arab countries according to the nature of their economies and the degree of openness and the association with the global economy. Some governments in the region have moved to reassure depositors that their money is safe in addition to the overall economic reforms carried out. The study classified Arab countries into three groups depending on their economies structure. The effects of the crisis spread to the Arab economies through several local and external factors. The paper found out that the direct impact of the crisis was less dramatic in the financial sectors of some Arab countries due to the low level of interlink ages with the international system. One important lesson from the crisis is to prevent financial contagion from crippling their domestic banking and non-banking financial sectors in addition to the needed work to restore macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth and to work together to face the current and future economic and financial crisis.