June 01, 2011Experts Policy Recommendations for the Improvement of Economic and Social WelfareFollowing the formation of the new Lebanese government in June 2011, LCPS presented to the ministerial committee charged with drafting the government’s policy statement a blueprint highlighting the socio-economic issues that should be included among the government’s top priorities. The seven urgent policy areas included reforming fiscal policies to reduce income disparities, dismantling monopolistic structures and practices that impede economic competitiveness, providing a comprehensive health policy, launching a public investment program for infrastructural rebuilding and upgrading, enacting an industrial policy that improves industrial and agricultural productivity and encourages the export of high valued goods, establishing a National Poverty Eradication Program that surpasses the current National Poverty Targeting Program and, lastly, rebuilding the capacities of public (or semi-public) institutions focused on economic planning. These priorities were selected after debate by a group of senior Lebanese experts put together by LCPS.