It is well-known that Palestinian growth and development have been blocked by what happened as a consequence of the Second Intifada and 2006 Hamas electoral victory, namely the tough restrictions on both people and goods movements. However, there is much which remains to be understood.
In this different scenario, is the Paris Protocol the good framework to restart some process of Palestinian development? Provided that trade relations with Israel are inevitably less flourishing than they were before 2000, is a policy of unconditional trade openness towards the rest of the world the best response? What are the concrete constraints preventing those Palestinian entrepreneurs who could make investments from doing so? And what are the social and fiscal implications associated with the last, tremendously complicated years? Who is suffering the most? These are the issues this book tries to shed some light on. The last ten years dramatically changed the course of Palestinian development, and economists and other social scientists may use this book as a tool to start thinking about the challenge of giving a chance to a people who strongly deserve it.