Our country faces enormous challenges as it moves into the 21^st century. The purpose of Jordan Vision 2020  (JV2020) is to ensure that we are proactive in shaping a response to those challenges rather than being overwhelmed by them.

JV2020 is an ambitious initiative which was launched in 1999 and presented to His Majesty King Abdullah II in 2000. It represents an economic blueprint for Jordan, and reflects an unprecedented collective effort by private sector organizations to bring about reform, modernization and development to create a better Jordan by the year 2020.

JV2020 initiative was spearheaded by the Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) in cooperation with 27 Jordanian business associations. The ultimate goal is to double per capita real GDP of Jordan, by the year 2020, increasing it from the figure for the year 2000 of approximately 1,100 dinars to 2,200 dinars by the year 2020. In other words, the Jordanian citizen would be able to double the consumption of goods and services in that year.

In order to double per capita real income of Jordanians in twenty years (2000-2020), the Jordanian economy would need to grow at a pace that exceeds the expected population growth and inflation. In other words, in addition to a growth factor of 3.5% a year, we need to match the 2.8% population growth and 2% average inflation. This translates into a need to reach an annual growth rate in nominal GDP that exceeds 8%¹ . Since 1999, Jordan’s nominal GDP growth rate has not exceeded 5.5%. This goal is therefore extremely difficult to achieve. It is not impossible, however, since several countries, including India, China, and Ireland have achieved similar growth patterns through increased exports and investments. Jordan itself has achieved high growth rates in the late seventies and early eighties.

JV 2020 is guided by the realization that the private sector, not government, is the true enabler of economic growth. Government cannot and should not be expected to provide more jobs . Therefore, the onus for action is increasingly on the private sector. Moreover, since domestic purchasing power is inadequate to generate substantial growth and therefore create jobs², the JV 2020 coalition recognizes the importance of higher exports to enable growth.

Currently JV 2020 has moved from macroeconomics strategy to implementation. Various business associations are currently involved in creating sector strategies that aim at translating the goals of JV 2020 into sustainable growth.

note:
(1) The exact rate, assuming population growth and inflation remain constant, is 8.6%. (JV2020 team)
(2) In Jordan, the public sector employs 34% of the total employed in Jordan (Department of Statistics, 2003).