Person:
Radwan, Ismail
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
Public Sector Management,
Private Sector Development
Degrees
ORCID
External Links
Departments
Europe and Central Asia
Externally Hosted Work
Contact Information
Last updated
January 31, 2023
Biography
Ismail Radwan is a lead public sector specialist in the World Bank. He has been based in Bucharest since July 2015. He currently leads the World Bank financed Revenue Administration Modernization Project (RAMP) as well as the Bank’s support to establish a strategy unit at the center of government. During 2012-2015 Radwan was the Country Program Coordinator for Central Europe and the Baltic Countries in the World Bank's European and Central Asia department, based in Washington D.C. During that time, he lead the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) which programs the World Bank Group’s engagement with Romania during the period 2014-2018. Prior to taking up this assignment in 2012 he was based in Nigeria where he led the Bank’s work in innovation, finance and private sector development. Between 2005-2008 he was based in Colombo, Sri Lanka where he managed a number of high profile projects for the Bank including the e-Sri Lanka initiative. Radwan studied economics and politics at Oxford University and then received a masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He has lived and worked in more than thirty countries. Prior to joining the World Bank in 2000, Radwan was a principal consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers London in the economics and strategy department. Radwan is originally from Cairo Egypt and speaks English, Arabic and French.
Publication Search Results
1 - 5 of 5
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Publication
Developing an African Offshoring Industry—The Case of Nigeria
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-10)The purpose of this note is to raise awareness of Nigeria's potential as an African offshoring hub, and it is aimed primarily toward policy makers, potential private sector investors, and development partners. This note addresses the following questions: what can Nigeria do to take advantage of the benefits of global trade in services; how can the country brand itself as an offshoring destination for international investors; and what government policies are required to ensure that Nigeria plays a role in the growing Information communication technology (ICT) offshoring sector. -
Publication
India : Private Health Services for the Poor
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-05)Despite India's great strides since independence, fertility, mortality, and morbidity remain unacceptably high. Although poverty and low levels of education are the root causes of poor health outcomes, poor stewardship over the health system bears some responsibility. Although India's states exhibit a wide variation in health outcomes, all but the best-performing states need to focus on improving both sexual and reproductive health care and child health care, and on reducing communicable diseases for the poor. This paper examines the public and private responses to this situation detailing the reasons behind the failure of the public sector and ways in which the private sector can be encouraged to play a role in providing health care for the poor in India. The paper concludes that there are three promising areas for the private sector including; (i) contracting out the primary health centers, (ii) social franchising and (iii) demand-led financing. The study is focused on what to do to improve health care for the poor, while a series of separate background papers focus on how to do it, and state specific issues in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, and Punjab. -
Publication
Knowledge, Productivity, and Innovation in Nigeria : Creating a New Economy
(World Bank, 2010)Harnessing knowledge for development is not a new concept. Knowledge has always been central to development and can mean the difference between poverty and wealth. The knowledge economy is not just about establishing high-tech industries and creating an innovative and entrepreneurial culture. Economic literature indicates that simply adopting existing technologies widely available in developed countries can dramatically boost productivity and economic growth. This paper highlights the knowledge economy (KE) issues that confront Nigeria and offers policy prescriptions that will allow the country to take advantage of the opportunities available in moving toward a knowledge-based economy. The Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM) developed by the World Bank considers four pillars: a) skills and education, b) business environment, c) information and communications infrastructure, and d) innovation system. -
Publication
Towards a National Jobs Strategy in Kuwait
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022)This report is one of the main deliverables outlined in the legal arrangement of September 10, 2019, between the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (GS-SCPD) in Kuwait and the World Bank. A separate overview report is also available. The social contract in Kuwait is at risk. Kuwaiti citizens are used to the state providing public sector jobs, free education, free healthcare, and subsidized fuel to all citizens. These benefits have been bought and paid for using Kuwait’s oil revenues, however, the sustainability of the social contract has been questioned by three mutually reinforcing challenges. First, oil demand is projected to steadily decline the next few decades. This decline is partly the result of changing consumer preferences away from carbon-based fuel sources, and partly the result of increasingly cost-effective alternative energy sources becoming available. Second, with mounting fiscal deficits, the size of the wage bill for the government is a growing concern. Third, the needs in the labor market will continue to grow as Kuwait’s population is young and growing. Central to these structural challenges are challenges to Kuwait’s labor market. A growing number of young Kuwaitis are entering the labor market with high expectations of well-paid, secure, public sector jobs. In the private sector, employers are dependent on low-cost and largely unskilled foreign workers. The 2019 COVID-19 global pandemic, which has led to an oil price crisis and a global economic slowdown, has intensified the debate surrounding jobs challenges in Kuwait. These jobs challenges need to be addressed to ensure the sustainability of the economic growth model and avoid major social disruption. The government has asked The World Bank for assistance to formulate a National Jobs Strategy to help confront these challenges, based on evidence and best practices. Reforms are recommended in four areas, or pillars: (i) make the public sector more sustainable, (ii) improve human capital, (iii) support private sector growth, and (iv) build a social protection system. In addition, the jobs strategy covers two cross-cutting themes: behavioral economics, and monitoring and evaluation, also embedded in the four pillars. This introduction briefly explains the critical challenges facing Kuwait that require substantial changes in policy. The subsequent sections analyze the major issues of these four topics, with recommendations for policy change to improve sustainability and enhance incomes. -
Publication
An Assessment of the Investment Climate in Nigeria
(World Bank, 2009)Nigeria's vision of 2020 is a bold desire to be among the top twenty economies by the year 2020. The economy has posted impressive growth figures since 2003 driven by higher oil prices and a series of home-grown, economic reforms. The country is now firmly on the road to middle-income status. This Investment Climate Analysis is built on a 2,300 firm survey and provides evidence-based recommendations designed to support the vision 2020. Survey results represent investment climate status in Nigeria and are grouped by the following topics: firm productivity and business environment, comparison of state level investment climates, access to finance, entrepreneurship and managerial capacity in firms, and investment climate aspects. The authors conclude that stakeholder consultations on the diagnostic work, policy assessment, and design would improve Nigeria's investment climate.