Lebanon’s resources consist of its human capital, unique geography and privileged location – assets that bestow upon Lebanon its comparative advantages at the regional and global levels. For Lebanon to achieve high and sustained economic rates of growth, and create high value added jobs on a scale sufficient to consolidate civil harmony and dent emigration, it must redirect its economy towards sectors and activities based on knowledge and innovation anchored onto its vast pool of talent and expertise. To do so, Lebanon must increase its productivity in the niches where it holds a comparative advantage and can strengthen its competitive position and become an important pole capable of expanding the size of its market, and therefore of its economy, beyond the narrow confines of its national borders, in exporting its “knowledge-based” services – in addition to its traditional goods and services where its position is well established – rather than its human resources as in the past.
Seven Pillars for Implementing Economic and Social Reform in Lebanon