Quo Vadis Egypt?

Abstract

In this chapter, we draw together the perspectives presented in this book on the relation between state and entrepreneurs that were viewed in the 200 years of Egyptian development. Within that long span, we set out to connect dots that may have appeared somewhat random, if viewed separately in the short or medium term. Fortunately, we were able to do so for two significant subjects. First, we have identified seven modalities of state policies vis-à-vis the business community. To this day, the lessons derived have general validity for policymaking both in Egypt and elsewhere. We shall recapitulate those lessons in the present chapter. Second, we also identified what we called “the human infrastructure,” a concept that refers to the combination of human capital in place and the associated nurturing institutions (chapter 1). It is a useful insight derived from observing entities (societies or business communities) pull themselves up by their bootstraps following periods of serious adversity. We saw the applicability of the concept not only in Egypt but also in Germany following its defeat in WWI, and Germany and Japan following their defeat in WWII.