Public-Private Partnership: A Strategy for Economic Development in Palestine

The private sector in Palestine has been striving for economic survival for a long time, especially during the last four years of the uprising. This sector, which is composed largely of small- and medium-sized enterprises, has not received adequate support from the Palestinian Authority. This study investigates the kind of relationship existing between the public and private sectors as perceived by a representative sample of the latter sector using a structured survey that was distributed to 150 small and medium sized enterprises in the West Bank in 2004. The results of the survey indicate a low level of cooperation between the two sectors which is often based on mistrust or negligence. The researchers discuss a number of barriers that should be removed to create a more cooperative atmosphere and probably some form of partnership between the two sectors.