Publication: Infrastructure and Employment Creation in the Middle East and North Africa
Date
2012-01
ISSN
Published
2012-01
Author(s)
Abstract
The report estimates Middle East and
North Africa's (MENA's) infrastructure investment
and maintenance needs through 2020 at 106 billion dollars
per year or 6.9 percent of the annual regional gross
domestic product (GDP). Developing oil exporting countries
(OEC) will need to commit almost 11 percent of their GDP
annually ($48 billion) on improving and maintaining their
national infrastructure endowments, while the oil importing
countries (OIC) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) oil
exporters need approximately 6 and 5 percent of their GDP,
respectively. Infrastructure investment has the potential to
create jobs quickly, while providing a foundation for future
growth. This is especially important in the oil importing
countries, where the infrastructure gap is the greatest and
employment needs are growing. However, it is also likely to
be most difficult in these countries because of strained
finances. Going forward, government decisions on what types
of spending to expand and what to contract to achieve
balanced budgets will have important implications for jobs.
Prudent infrastructure development will be critical for
short and long-term growth and job creation.
Citation
“Freund, Caroline; Ianchovichina, Elena. 2012. Infrastructure and Employment Creation in the Middle East and North Africa. MENA Knowledge and Learning Quick Notes Series; No. 54. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/179f4566-3c32-5faa-98b0-54e55d26b8fe License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”