Having rebuilt much of their destroyed country and readied it for business, the Lebanese are waiting, patiently, with hope and a most enviable flare for life. Like in Europe, prices are high. These are not tourist prices. They reflect the price of food, clothing and rentals which in Beirut are more expensive than in New York. There is but little industry in Lebanon.
Agricultural yield is poor and the sector is grossly neglected by the state.
Exports are low and imports high. Most important, the Arab sheikhs on whose investments and spending the Lebanese government has staked much of its reconstruction plan, have not returned. Yet, the middle class is large, working people are adequately fed and clothed, the currency is stable and inflation under control. The economics of Lebanon struck this visitor as mysterious. Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri's government has wisely inducted to rebuild the country.