Myth-Busting Lebanese Wealth ?

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A widely circulated fact in Lebanon is that the Lebanese who live abroad make much more money than those who live in the mainland. A new study by the Center for Global Development exposes the real figures for the first time.

So far, all previous studies made on average incomes were country-centric. That means that all figures relate to what is being produced in the country itself. But now, a new statistic by the Center for Global Development measures the average incomes of people who are born in a certain country, not those of people who live in it

After looking at the paper, I made this table for Arab countries’ “income per naturals”:

It turns out that the average Lebanese makes outside of Lebanon 31.6% more than he or she makes inside of Lebanon. A league of our own if we compare the figure to other Arab countries.

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No comments for “Myth-Busting Lebanese Wealth ?”

Thanks for the post Mustapha. Very interesting paper.
I don’t think GDP is a measure of salary but rather a measure of output. They could very well divert. For example a person earning a $50k Salary but reading the newspaper instead of working makes a $0 output. Maybe someone else care to confirm.

Posted by Blastercbi | April 21, 2008, 6:44 pm
Ah yes, interpretation of statistics, one of my favorite topics! Let’s see:

A sad conclusion would be that the higher educated Lebanese cannot find suitable jobs inside Lebanon and thus have to emigrate to realize their potential.

A positive conclusion would be that the Lebanese are exceptionally flexible and can be a success no matter where they go.

Regardless one’s bias, the Lebanese do stand out remarkably when compared to the other Arab countries. Interesting.

Posted by Riemer Brouwer | April 22, 2008, 8:08 am

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Hello, my name is Mustapha and I blog in The Beirut Spring about Lebanese society and politics. I started in February 2005 after the killing of P.M. Rafik Hariri.