On the Syrian economy
Analyst Joshua Landis’s post highlighting recent reports on the Syrian economy is characteristically detailed, but I think his own analysis does a good job of summarizing the situation:
“The following economic and political reports suggest that Syria is fairly well isolated from the world recession. For once, Damascus’ habitual reform footdragging paid off handsomely. The fact that the long promised stock market has yet to be launched has saved Syrian businessmen money and headache.”
Also, from the same source, it looks like Americans in Syria won’t be enjoying a more favorable exchange rate any time soon. When I first visited in December 2006, the exchange rate was something 48 or 49 pounds to the dollar. When I arrived in the summer, it was closer to 45, and the Economist says: “we do not expect any substantive change over the outlook period, with the exchange rate forecast to average SP46.4:US$1 in 2009-10.”
Of course, it’s still a favorable exchange rate on the whole. But it means that the CASA stipend will continue to cover much less in Syria than it does in Egypt, compounded by the fact that CASA Cairo fellows receive their stipend in cash, while we have to pay high bank fees to withdraw it from ATMs. This might sound unnecessarily whiny, but I know people who chose to enroll in better-funded programs like Flagship rather than CASA because of well-justified monetary concerns, so it seems that CASA might have to be a bit more generous if it wants to keep its respected place among options for advanced Arabic study.
Joshua Landis said,
December 14, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Dear Sarah, Good to find your blog. I hope the CASA year goes well. What is the program like and who directs it, teaches in it and how different is it from the Univ of Damascus program?
Would you consider writing up a short discription for the Syria Studies Association Website on “Study in Syria”? We do not have a CASA section because the program is so new. I went on the Egyptian CASA program myself in the 1980s and would love to know how the new program in Damascus is going. Hope you will consider it. If you could write something for the SSA site that I could just copy and paste, I would be grateful. Here is the site:
http://www.ou.edu/ssa/learn.htm
Best, Joshua