Development and structural change in rural Egypt, 1952 to 1982

Abstract

This study evaluates the changes which have occurred in rural Egypt since 1952 in terms of a growth-conscious, poverty-oriented definition of development. According to the study, development requires improvements in three criteria over time: poverty, inequality and productivity (land and labor). Using a variety of empirical data, the study demonstrates that each of these criteria has either stabilized or improved in rural Egypt since 1952. The study therefore concludes that ’development’ has indeed taken place in the Egyptian countryside. However, the low rate of qualitative structural change in the basic factors of production (land and labor) raises questions about the prospects for such development in the future.