MBL Baraa Lafi

Writings & posts

Opinion Writings & Blog Posts.

Between Forecast and Execution: How Reliable Are Government Budget Forecasts?
October 2026Economy

Between Forecast and Execution: How Reliable Are Government Budget Forecasts?

How close do actual budget outturns come to what governments plan?

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Cancellation of the Debt Held by the ECB: What Is Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s Proposal Really Worth?
September 2026Economy

Cancellation of the Debt Held by the ECB: What Is Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s Proposal Really Worth?

What would cancellation really change for the central bank and public finances?

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Walking Away from the IMF: Has Borrowing Ended, or Has the Lender Changed?
September 2026Economy

Walking Away from the IMF: Has Borrowing Ended, or Has the Lender Changed?

Between the Rhetoric of Sovereignty and the Reality of Public Financing.

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Food Subsidies: Between Social Protection and Public Health Concerns
December 2025Society

Food Subsidies: Between Social Protection and Public Health Concerns

When a policy built to fight hunger ends up subsidising diabetes: is it time to rethink food subsidies?

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Morocco's Development Model: Investment, Infrastructure and Competitiveness
December 2025Economy

Morocco's Development Model: Investment, Infrastructure and Competitiveness

Lessons from Morocco's experience: why development needs a long-term vision.

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Is the Exchange Rate Enough to Measure Currency Strength? Lessons from Africa
November 2025Economy

Is the Exchange Rate Enough to Measure Currency Strength? Lessons from Africa

A cost-of-living comparison across 9 African countries, beyond the nominal exchange rate.

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Voting in the United States: Beyond Common Assumptions About Political Parties
November 2025Politics

Voting in the United States: Beyond Common Assumptions About Political Parties

Is the Democratic Party still the party of the poor?

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Reconstruction in the Middle East: A comparison between regional contributions
September 2025Politics

Reconstruction in the Middle East: A comparison between regional contributions

After every war... who rebuilds what wars destroy in the Middle East?

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Lebanon: Two Lost Decades of Economic Growth?
September 2025Economy

Lebanon: Two Lost Decades of Economic Growth?

How did Lebanon lose twenty years of economic development?

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Cross-Investment Between the United States and Gulf Countries: What the Data Show
May 2025Economy

Cross-Investment Between the United States and Gulf Countries: What the Data Show

An economic relationship often framed as unbalanced — what do foreign direct investment figures really show?

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The Marine Le Pen Case: Judicial Transparency and Democratic Process in France
April 2025Politics

The Marine Le Pen Case: Judicial Transparency and Democratic Process in France

Coming soon

Under Review
Implementing Political Platforms: The Case of Donald Trump
April 2025Politics

Implementing Political Platforms: The Case of Donald Trump

Coming soon

Under Review