From Neoliberalism to Social Justice

The educated unemployed youth of Tunisia have played a crucial role in the 2010 uprisings that have sparked revolutions across the entire Arab world (and beyond). It has been argued that the recent economic situation in Tunisia is the culmination of three decades of neoliberal economic policies that have contributed to the rise in income inequality, the lack of upward mobility for educated youth, and the removal of social safety nets for the working class. This paper argues that the economic success of post-Ben Ali Tunisia must do away with neoliberal economic policies and focus instead on direct job creation through public sector spending. A six-year full employment program is proposed for Tunisia in the Post Keynesian Institutionalist tradition of Hyman Minsky. The main purpose of this paper is to address the technical question of financial affordability of direct job creation, rather than focusing on the logistical aspects of the program. The paper demonstates that this program can create full employment, contribute an additional 4.8 percentage points to GDP growth, and cost 3.36 percent of GDP. JEL Codes: B5, E12, E24, F41, 023, O38, O47, O53