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The Third Wheel in Public Policy: An Overview of NGOs in Lebanon

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Public Administration and Policy in the Middle East

Part of the book series: Public Administration, Governance and Globalization ((PAGG,volume 9))

Abstract

Lebanon is relatively a small country in the Middle East with an area of 4,035.5172 sq. miles and a population of 3,759,136 (CSA 2007). The geographical location at the Mediterranean Sea and the diversity in the socio-cultural milieu favored Lebanon as a bridge between the East and the West. Before the civil war (1975–1990), the country witnessed an economic boom and was the spotlight of the world; Lebanon was labeled as the Switzerland of the East to characterize its unique status.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Fiscal indicators reflect the situation. The 2008 total revenue was around US$7.5 billion; the GDP (purchasing power parity) is US$44.07 billion while GDP (official exchange rate) is US$28.2 billion. By the end of 2008, the public debt constituted 163.5 % of the GDP; the gross public debt stood at US$47.01 billion while the net public debt reached US$41.52 billion.

  2. 2.

    The war broke out on April 13, 1975 and ended in 1990 through reconciliation imposed by foreign countries.

  3. 3.

    The latest was in summer 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah.

  4. 4.

    The accumulated budget of social welfare NGOs is five times the budget of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The 2009 national budget allocates US$694.283 million for education, US$293.165 million for health and US$127.144 million thousands for social services out of the total US$10.869 billion.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bush School of Government, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Khaldoun AbouAssi

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  1. Khaldoun AbouAssi
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Correspondence to Khaldoun AbouAssi .

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  1. Marywood University, Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA

    Alexander R. Dawoody

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AbouAssi, K. (2015). The Third Wheel in Public Policy: An Overview of NGOs in Lebanon. In: Dawoody, A. (eds) Public Administration and Policy in the Middle East. Public Administration, Governance and Globalization, vol 9. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1553-8_12

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