Economic issues underpinned the 2011 uprisings that swept through the Arab world with calls for social justice at the forefront of protestors’ demands for change. Despite this centrality, the economic dimensions of uprisings in the region remain relatively unexplored by scholars. Transitions in the region raise important questions about the nature of shifting power structures and their relationship to divergent outcomes in the region. What is the relationship between uprisings in the region and the economic interests of domestic and international actors? How have economic demands shaped political outcomes? What influence have regional and international pressures had on the kind of domestic political transformations that have occurred thus far? This paper considers these questions through the lens of economic change in Egypt since 2011. Examining the politics of aid and economic reform since Mubarak’s departure underscores the complexity of interests both domestic and international competing to shape a new Egypt. Egypt’s leaders have since struggled to reconcile domestic demands for change with those of stabilization and adjustment. Groups challenging the economic policies and strategies of previous governments have been excluded from government negotiations, particularly those with the IMF. The invocation of security threats has insured the continuance of aid whether from Western donors or those from the Gulf, shaping a political economy reflective of the Mubarak era. Situated at the intersection of the literatures on political economy and democratic transitions, this paper leverages new data on investments in Egypt with interviews with domestic and international actors engaged in economic debates in the country to examine how subsequent regimes have used incentives and entitlements to manage economic change since the revolution. Research undertaken underscores the importance of examining how elites, aid institutions, and experts are shaping the post 2011 environment with potentially perverse outcomes for those who have played an active role in pushing for alternative economic and political frameworks.