“A rich set of studies.... No future work on education in the region can avoid engaging the insights and analyses presented in this volume.” —Laurie A. Brand, Middle East Journal

“A timely discussion about the urgency of the issue at hand—how to restructure Arab educational systems away from a context of political cronyism, nepotism, and clientelism into one where high levels of educational achievement by students are actually rewarded and realized with the commensurate success and status in their societies.... Let’s hope a few current (and future) Arab technocrats and legislators pick up this book.” —Nisma Elias, Comparative Education Review

Despite substantial spending on education and robust support for reform both internally and by external donors, the quality of education in many, if not most, Arab countries remains low. Which raises the question: why?

The authors of The Political Economy of Education in the Arab World find answers in the authoritarian political economies that shape the architecture of national governance across the region. Presenting studies from North Africa and the Gulf region, as well as comparative perspectives from Asia and Latin America, they show clearly that efforts to improve education—and thereby enhance economic development and broaden the base of citizenship on which more stable and effective systems of governance can be built—will fail until ruling elites are no longer able to increase their political and economic power at the expense of the greater good.