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And As You Listen: The Oral Narrative of Muhammad Abdel Wahab, Minister of Industry of Egypt, 1984–93

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2009

AbdelAziz EzzelArab
AbdelAziz EzzelArab*
Affiliation:
Economics Department and Economic and Business History Research Centre, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt; e-mail: ezelarab@aucegypt.edu
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Extract

Nationalization was a fatal mistake and so was privatization. Both had the same adverse effect on industrial production. . . . The state could have achieved control over production by undertaking new investments without touching existing private entities. . . . The original size even of a company as large as Mahalla Spinning and Weaving Co. was only 10–12% of its subsequent size as a public sector company. . . . As Minister of Industry, I suffered the consequences of indiscriminate nationalization by having to spend disproportionate time on production issues of small industrial units. . . .

Type
Quick Studies
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , February 2009 , pp. 1 - 3
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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References

NOTES

1 The extract is taken from an unpublished transcript of five oral-history sessions conducted by Omar Cheta, Wael Ismail, and the writer between 23 March and 14 April 2004.

2 This originally began as a pilot project in January 2004, with the support and involvement of Ellis Goldberg, Roger Owen, Bob Tignor, and Bob Vitalis. In June 2004, the Economic and Business History Research Centre was established to carry on that work. For information, see www.aucegypt.edu/ResearchatAUC/rc/ebhrc/Pages/default.aspx.

3 Apart from narratives of these individuals, the material compiled by the Economic and Business History Research Centre includes narratives of small-business owners, activists, technocrats, and intellectuals.