One can just imagine the size of the damage that austerity measures can cause if implemented haphazardly in Egypt, which has significantly lower wages and crumbling public services. The social cost of an ill-planned austerity strategy, compounded by tax hikes and the devaluation of the local currency, can be huge. Annual inflation skyrocketed surpassing 16% in August, based on official statistics by Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). Figure 1: Egypt’s balance of trade deficit in million US dollarsFigure 2: Egypt’s monthly annual inflation rateThe government was forced to throttle at full speed to comply with the stipulated austerity measures of the IMF. Reports about huge numbers of detainees and the disappearance of some activists compounded with harsh sentences don’t serve Egypt well.

Source: Daily News Egypt October 19, 2016 07:52 UTC