This white paper focuses on viable policy recommendations for Lebanon, the United States and regional and international actors to address the political deadlock and economic downturn, drawing on ideas collected through a series of roundtable discussions with Lebanese politicians, officials, and civil society members, as well as foreign diplomats, academics, policy experts, and leaders from the Lebanese American community.

In this report, the co-authors explore the best way out of the intersecting economic, fiscal, and political crises facing Lebanon. Against a general backdrop of weak institutional capacity and growing instability, the authors argue that any reform program for Lebanon should be simple, transparent, and most importantly managed by a credible government of reform. In the heat of the present crisis, Lebanon must maneuver toward a productive economy away from the dominant financial sector through initiatives supporting business capacity, entrepreneurs, and skills development.