The acquisition of large amounts of foreign aid, handled improperly by a struggling economy, can weaken rather than strengthen it. This study reaches this sobering conclusion by examining how the economic boom enjoyed by Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in the 1970s turned into financial crisis by the 1980s. The analysis involves the political, economic, and social similarities and differences among the three countries and pinpoints both the internal and external factors that contributed most significantly to their economic declines. Particular attention focuses on the huge influx of foreign aid...