Afghanistan has now laid the foundation for a market-based economy. A new economic system, based on the state as a regulator, not a producer, of goods, with a clear separation between the public and private sectors, stands in place of the centralized economy of the past. An independent central bank, a liberalized foreign exchange system, and laws permitting foreigners to wholly own property characterize the new economic landscape. A doubling of the gross national product and per capita income, a 13 percent growth rate in 2007, and modest inflation paint a vibrant picture.

Yet substantial challenges linger. Many of the problems Afghanistan’s economy faces are typical for those rebuilding after war: high prices from an immature system that lacks adequate private sector competition; resistance to change from a state-controlled system; the dearth of human capital; corruption; insecurity; and inequalities created by the market system itself. Critics also believe that the billions of dollars spent on Afghanistan by the international community have not had the expected impact.