In America's Image; Even Washington no longer pushes the Washington consensus, yet belatedly, it's catching on in the Middle East.

Byline: Stephen Glain

You wouldn't think of it as a bastion of economic liberalism. But in the last few years, Syria, Washington's archnemesis and the final, symbolic frontier of Baath Party socialism, has swung open its once shuttered economy with a neoliberal flourish. Where once there were only risk-averse, state-run banks, private lenders are now doing a brisk trade. New investment laws are stimulating foreign direct investment and a simplified tax code is boosting state revenues. Interest rates are low, and a stock market is slated to open in August. The result: 5.6 percent GDP growth this year, up from 5.1 percent in 2006. "For the first time in decades, the Syrian economy is open," says Jihad Yazigi, editor of the economic bulletin the Syria Report.

Damascus may have strained ties with Washington, but it has ...