With support from the International Center for Economic Growth (ICEG), the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), and the Economic Development Institute (EDI) of the World Bank, the fifth LET seminar on Budgetary Politics in Lebanon was held on November 18, 1996, at the American University of Beirut Alumni Association. The meeting was attended by a group of academics, business men, and government officials. During the meeting, conferees discussed key issues concerning the budget which include: the deficit, debt standards, taxation, and independent funds and their monitoring.

The paper reviews the proposed 1997 budget and uses it as a vehicle to analyze key issues in Lebanon's public finances. The purpose of the report is to stimulate informed public discussion and awareness of fiscal conditions. It comes at a time when the government is facing difficult economic choices and as Lebanon's public finances are coming under closer scrutiny by foreign governments and international financial analysts. It discusses the economic and financial situation of the country and compares it with the pre-war and post-war period. In addition, the report discusses and analyzes the fiscal developments during the last three years, and reviews the government's 1997 draft budget. Briefly, the fiscal issues which were emphasized upon in the report include: budget flexibility, waste issue, expenditures prioritizing, comprehensive budgeting, foreign aid, taxation, privatization, interest rates, assets utilization, and debt standards.

While the 40 -page paper does not offer recommendations or solutions to Lebanon's fiscal difficulties, it encourages reflection on a number of issues and options presented for the consideration of policy-makers, and it stimulates informed public discussion and increases public awareness of fiscal conditions.

The four researchers who worked on the report include Dr. Said Hitti (economist), was the main author of the report, Dr. Ghassan Dibeh (chairman of the Economics Department at the American Lebanese University), Dr. Wassim Shahin (Dean of the School of Business at the American Lebanese University), and Dr. Kamal Shehadi of the LCPS was the team leader.

The report entitled: "Budgetary Politics in Lebanon: A Memorandum for Public Discussion" was published in the Lebanon Report (No. 4, Winter 1996). The report is published in an Arabic and English booklet.