Economic Policy and Class Structure in Syria: 1958–1980
It is indeed an interesting endeavor to investigate the impact of economic policies on social stratification. Doing so enables us to see to what extent economic policies bring changes in class structure in a society. We take the case of Syria to study its economic policies and their accompanying impact on the evolving pattern of the Syrian elite from the late 1950s to the early 1980s and then look at accompanying impact on class structure. The two poles or aspects of this paper are (1) economic policies themselves and (2) their impact on class structure. The question that we are going to raise in the first pole is the following: what is the nature of the economic policies? This refers to land reforms, industrial and commercial reforms, and foreign trade controls.
The urban development of Damascus: a study of its past, present and future
Despite holding the title of the ‘oldest continuously inhabited city in the world’, 
Damascus has seldom been the focus of academic research in urban studies. As 
the city has been of prime importance to major historical Empires, this study of 
Damascus’ urban development reflects global shifts in culture, religion, and 
economics over time. The problems Damascus faces today are in many ways 
representative of those in other Less Developed Countries. Moreover, particularly 
in the Middle East where factors such as oil and water supply come in to play, the 
outcomes increasingly affect tomorrow’s globalised world as a whole. 
Currently the capital of a closed ‘market-socialist’ economy, Damascus is now 
attempting to reposition itself as a ‘modern’ city, with various new reforms 
paving the way for it to become a centre of trade, commerce and tourism. 
However, it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose proud status is under 
threat as it disregards historical buildings, and struggles with one of the world’s 
highest urban growth rates, exacerbated inequality and endemic corruption. 
Therefore, developers are faced with important questions: What does it mean to 
be a modern city? In a Less Developed Economy, where should priorities lie? 
To better understand Damascus’ present situation, this paper provides an indepth 
analytical study of the city’s urban formation, from Ancient times until 
today. It is written chronologically, taking into account changes in land tenure 
policy, political environments and economic situations that have influenced 
development. To provide a contemporary context, this paper also carries 
interviews with key players in Syrian property development, including 
developers, investors, academics and members of parliament. Further interviews 
with architects, civil engineers and local Damascenes add local insight. 
By placing these first-hand accounts within a historical socio-economic context, 
this paper is a unique examination of Damascus and a useful reference for future 
development. 
Aside from government reforms to combat corruption, this paper concludes that 
long-term, educated strategies need to be adopted to safeguard the city’s 
historical wealth, preserving social cohesion and its potential for tourism. New 
industrial cities outside traditional urban areas would help manage high urban 
populations, and reduce pressure on the fragile ecological basin of Damascus.
Deliberative Democracy and the Resource Curse: A Nationwide Experiment in Tanzania
Oil and gas discoveries in developing countries are often associated with short-sighted economic policies and, in response, calls to insulate resource management from populist impulses. We report on a randomized experiment testing methods to overcome this apparent tension between sound resource governance and democratic politics. Soon after Tanzania’s discovery of major natural gas reserves, we invited a nationally representative sample of voters to an intensive public deliberation of policy options featuring nationally recognized experts and small-group discussions. Democratic deliberation reinforced the public’s strong preference for rapid spending of gas revenues, but also increased support for various prudential and economically orthodox measures, including independent oversight of gas revenues, limits on government borrowing, and selling gas abroad rather than subsidizing fuel at home. These effects were driven by deliberation per se, rather than a pure information treatment, and show no evidence of contamination by facilitatoror peer-effects in group deliberations. www.cgdev.org Justin Sandefur, Nancy Birdsall, James Fishkin, and Mujobu Moyo