Arab unemployment may spark unrest if oil boom ends

Arab countries could face a “lethal combination” of falling oil prices and rising unemployment in the next five years if they fail to reform their economies, a senior economist said on Saturday.

Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist at the World Economic Forum (WEF) and editor of the Arab World Competitiveness Report 2005, released on Saturday, said this scenario could ignite unrest among disillusioned youths throughout the Arab world.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=4/5/2005&Cat=9&Num=1