Egypt-IMF agreement an elusive prospect --- by Hani Sabra

Egypt-IMF agreement an elusive prospect --- by Hani Sabra:

"As Egypt’s economy continues to waver, policymakers’ ability to manoeuvre will grow increasingly limited. Egypt’s new military-backed leadership is likely to see more funding from GCC states that were unfriendly to the Muslim Brotherhood-led government and as a result, this will provide a short term respite. Authorities still need to implement reforms to resuscitate a moribund economy. However, implementing reforms will prove tricky: the authorities want to benefit the poor but also attract domestic and international investment—two aims that are sometimes contradictory in the short term. The period between Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February 2011 through Mohamed Morsi’s July 2013 ouster, the conventional view was that an IMF agreement was the basis for a solution to Egypt’s economic problems because it would have illustrated Egypt’s creditworthiness, leading to more assistance and investment. However, TahrirTrends’ recently collected polling data suggests the overwhelming majority of Egyptians are not receptive to an IMF agreement. "

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