Publication: Reforming Government Debt Markets in MENA
Loading...
Published
2011-03-01
ISSN
Date
2012-03-19
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This paper examines the current stage of development of government securities markets in the non-GCC MENA region focusing in five countries that have government bond markets with a minimum size and greater potential for market development: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia. The analysis focuses on the five key building blocks that normally sustain deep and liquid public debt markets: (i) money markets; (ii) primary market (issuance policy and placement mechanisms); (iii) secondary market organization; (iv) investor base; and (v) clearing and settlement infrastructure. The study shows that despite country differences, several common weaknesses in the key building blocks explain the underdevelopment of MENA bond markets. Most important among these are a symbiotic relationship between banks and Governments caused by lack of alternative investments that makes banks act as captive demand and dominate bond markets, opportunistic primary issuance practices, and excess liquidity in the financial system. These demand and supply characteristics have led to highly concentrated buy-and-hold portfolios by banks and State-owned institutions, poor price discovery and lack of liquidity in secondary markets. A set of actions to unlock market development in MENA is proposed involving measures in all key building blocks - from improvements in monetary policy implementation and liquidity management to enhancements in issuance practices, price transparency, and clearing & settlement infrastructure. Measures to improve the role of mutual funds and foster foreign investor presence are also of utmost importance to increase competition and investor diversification in these markets.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Garcia-Kilroy, Catiana; Silva, Anderson Caputo. 2011. Reforming Government Debt Markets in MENA. Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5611. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3377 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication The Macroeconomic Implications of Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Options(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-05-29)Estimating the macroeconomic implications of climate change impacts and adaptation options is a topic of intense research. This paper presents a framework in the World Bank's macrostructural model to assess climate-related damages. This approach has been used in many Country Climate and Development Reports, a World Bank diagnostic that identifies priorities to ensure continued development in spite of climate change and climate policy objectives. The methodology captures a set of impact channels through which climate change affects the economy by (1) connecting a set of biophysical models to the macroeconomic model and (2) exploring a set of development and climate scenarios. The paper summarizes the results for five countries, highlighting the sources and magnitudes of their vulnerability --- with estimated gross domestic product losses in 2050 exceeding 10 percent of gross domestic product in some countries and scenarios, although only a small set of impact channels is included. The paper also presents estimates of the macroeconomic gains from sector-level adaptation interventions, considering their upfront costs and avoided climate impacts and finding significant net gross domestic product gains from adaptation opportunities identified in the Country Climate and Development Reports. Finally, the paper discusses the limits of current modeling approaches, and their complementarity with empirical approaches based on historical data series. The integrated modeling approach proposed in this paper can inform policymakers as they make proactive decisions on climate change adaptation and resilience.Publication South Africa’s Fragmented Cities: The Unequal Burden of Labor Market Frictions(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2026-01-08)Using high-resolution administrative, census, and satellite data, this paper shows that South African cities are characterized by spatial mismatches between where people live and where jobs are located, relative to 20 global peers. Areas within 5 kilometers of commercial centers have 9,300 fewer residents per square kilometer than expected, which is 60 percent below the global median. Poor, dense neighborhoods are most affected. In Johannesburg, a 10-percentile increase in distance from the nearest business hub corresponds to a 3.7-percentile drop in asset wealth (a proxy of household wellbeing) and 4.9-percentile drop in employment. In Cape Town, the declines are 4.0 and 3.7 percentiles, respectively. Employment is 87 percent lower in the poorest decile than the richest in Johannesburg and 61 percent lower in Cape Town. These findings suggest that South Africa’s spatial organization of people and economic activity constrains agglomeration and reinforces inequality. This methodology provides a scalable and standardized data-driven framework to analyze spatial accessibility and agglomeration frictions in complex, data-constrained urban systems.Publication The Evolution of Local Participatory Democracy in Nepal(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-05)Nepal is, according to its constitution, among the world’s most decentralized countries, with a long and complex tradition of local-level public participation. This paper traces the evolution of Nepal’s modern participatory institutions, examining the extent to which they are “induced” by external interventions versus being “organically” rooted in indigenous practices. The paper identifies three broad phases: an initial focus on participation in project implementation; a subsequent phase that expanded citizen engagement; and a third phase of citizen empowerment, culminating in the 2015 federal constitution, which granted unprecedented local autonomy. The analysis yields five key findings. First, over the past 50 years, successive reforms have progressively expanded opportunities for citizens to influence local decision-making. Second, these reforms have integrated traditional participatory mechanisms into formal institutions of local government. Third, although central-level initiatives exist, most participatory platforms continue to operate at the local level. Fourth, the federal constitution has created a new landscape of local democracy, embedding autonomy and accountability. Fifth, although they are still valued in many ethnic and territorial communities, traditional participatory practices are gradually disappearing. The paper concludes by offering policy recommendations to help donor agencies and governments strengthen Nepal’s democratic trajectory. It argues that effective interventions should build on Nepal’s deep participatory traditions while recognizing the constitutional reality of far-reaching local autonomy.Publication Institutional Capacity for Policy Implementation: An Analytical Framework(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2026-01-07)State capacity is an important prerequisite for policy implementation, yet at the country level it is difficult to measure, assess, and reform. This paper proposes a focus on institutional capacity: the ability of public institutions to implement the specific policy mandates for which they are responsible. Based on a review of existing literature, the paper defines the different dimensions that compose institutional capacity and groups them into two cross-cutting categories: organizational dimensions (personnel, financial resources, information systems, and management practices) and governance dimensions (transparency, independence, and accountability). The paper proposes measures for organizational and governance dimensions using existing data, shows intra-institutional variation of these measures within countries, and discusses how new data could be collected for better measurement of these concepts. Finally, the paper illustrates how the framework can be used to diagnose the sources of common problems related to weak policy implementation.Publication Closing the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: Overcoming Challenges in Law and Practice for Female Entrepreneurs(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2026-01-07)Despite significant strides toward gender equality, women around the world continue to encounter systemic obstacles that hinder their entrepreneurial success. This paper systematically reviews the literature on the barriers female entrepreneurs face and the solutions proposed to overcome these challenges. It discusses institutional factors, financial factors, human capital factors, and social and cultural factors. The literature overview is complemented by a series of stylized facts that illustrate how overcoming some of these existing barriers is correlated with improved women’s entrepreneurship and female labor force participation, drawing on the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law database as well as the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys. The findings underscore the need for creating an enabling environment where women can thrive as entrepreneurs.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Financial Sector Assessment Program - Albania : Public Debt Management(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-02)Government debt continues to expand, reaching over all 872 billion, approximately 62 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), as of end-September 2013. Domestic debt grew sharply in the first half of 2013, emanating largely from poor tax revenue performance, together with the accumulation of a large stock of unpaid bills and arrears. External debt creditors comprise multilaterals, bilateral creditors, and private creditors. The concentrated nature of the investor base and the high domestic debt stock limit the choices available to debt management, particularly with regards to extending the maturity of the domestic debt. Public debt management in Albania follows an organized process but will benefit from a number of technical changes. The domestic borrowing plan has been revised frequently due to unexpected flows in the treasury account. In an environment of volatile treasury balances, cash flows safety nets or minimum cash buffers should be implemented. A number of initiatives are recommended to improve the transmission of price signals in the primary market - overall this will provide incentives for secondary market development. To support the development of the secondary market the General Directorate of public debt management should modify its issuance program and focus on key maturities on the yield curve. It is suggested that the issuance program takes a small step in this direction by limiting the number of tenors and focusing on for example, two, five, seven, and ten-year treasury bonds as well as increasing the frequency of 5 and 7-year maturities from quarterly to bi-monthly. This will provide more frequent price discovery in the primary market that will support portfolio valuation.Publication Thailand Financial Sector Assessment Program(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-04)The debt market in Thailand has made important strides since the financial crisis of 1997. The Thai government has made significant progress in building an orderly yield curve and is beginning to establish some benchmarks. However, more needs to be done if the government is to achieve its objective of enhancing liquidity in the market. In particular, liquidity in the secondary market would be enhanced by reducing the frequency of auctions, while increasing the size of each individual offering. Such a change will require primary dealers to change their mode of operation from effectively a broking operation to the provision of greater underwriting and market making services; consequently a review of the primary dealer system is warranted. Nevertheless, prospects for development of the government securities market will be constrained overall by the likely limited financing need going forward, unless the authorities can secure some additional flexibility to restructure the existing portfolio or otherwise establish more meaningful benchmarks. The corporate debt market suffers from too few issuers of corporate debt and too little diversity of debt offerings. This reflects, in part the limited corporate need for long-term financing, the ready availability of alternative financing by commercial banks at competitive rates, and regulatory policies that emphasize investor protection by imposing substantial limitations on the ability of institutional investors to purchase anything but investment grade debt, which effectively precludes issuance of below investment grade debt.Publication Securities Lending and Related Standing Facilities(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-05)Thesis aim of this draft background note is to provide public debt managers with an overview of the matters that need to be considered by debt management offices planning to provide a securities lending facility to their primary dealers.Publication Debt Management Performance Assessment : Sierra Leone(Washington, DC, 2009-12)The results of this assessment show that seven (7) indicators warranted an overall score of C or better, demonstrating compliance with the minimum requirement; these referred to the debt management strategy; evaluation of debt management operation; coordination with fiscal policy; domestic borrowing; external borrowing; debt records and debt reporting, and debt administration and data security. A total of eight (8) indicators did not meet the minimum requirement at the time of the mission. These correspond to legal framework; managerial structure; audit, coordination with monetary policy; loan guarantees and on-lending; cash-flow forecasting and balance management; segregation of duties, staff capacity and business continuity and debt reporting. The mission notes that Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, or MOFED is currently implementing reforms in the areas of public debt management and domestic debt market development, including i) designing a new comprehensive public debt law; ii) implementing the reorganization of the debt management unit in MOFED; iii) formulating and implementing a procedures manual for debt management functions in MOFED; iv) implementing connectivity between two major data bases, namely CSDRMS and the integrated financial management system of the government. As a consequence, the mission expects several of these indicators to improve with reform implementation.Publication Sovereign Debt Management in Crisis in Europe and Central Asia(Washington, DC, 2013-05)The global financial crisis of 2008-2009 required most sovereign debt managers to adapt to rapidly changing market circumstances, by changing the mix of borrowing instruments and adopting techniques that minimize the impact of severe market dislocations and increased risk aversion. These actions, allied to prudent macroeconomic and debt management policies implemented by government in the years preceding the crises, were critical in helping countries meet their financing needs without undue strain on the financial markets. This toolkit draws on the approaches taken by a range of countries and provides sovereign debt policy makers with a rich set of potential actions to address crisis periods. A practical illustration on the use of some of these actions is conducted by analyzing the measures taken by Romania, Serbia and Turkey as a response to the recent crises. Authors draw lessons from these experiences and examine what other measures included in the toolkit could have been used to boost the crisis response impact in these economies, respecting country-specific contexts.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication The Global Findex Database 2025: Connectivity and Financial Inclusion in the Digital Economy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-07-16)The Global Findex 2025 reveals how mobile technology is equipping more adults around the world to own and use financial accounts to save formally, access credit, make and receive digital payments, and pursue opportunities. Including the inaugural Global Findex Digital Connectivity Tracker, this fifth edition of Global Findex presents new insights on the interactions among mobile phone ownership, internet use, and financial inclusion. The Global Findex is the world’s most comprehensive database on digital and financial inclusion. It is also the only global source of comparable demand-side data, allowing cross-country analysis of how adults access and use mobile phones, the internet, and financial accounts to reach digital information and resources, save, borrow, make payments, and manage their financial health. Data for the Global Findex 2025 were collected from nationally representative surveys of about 145,000 adults in 141 economies. The latest edition follows the 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2021 editions and includes new series measuring mobile phone ownership and internet use, digital safety, and frequency of transactions using financial services. The Global Findex 2025 is an indispensable resource for policy makers in the fields of digital connectivity and financial inclusion, as well as for practitioners, researchers, and development professionals.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.Publication Accelerating Investment: Challenges and Policies(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-19)Investment is the engine that expands productive capacity, modernizes infrastructure, creates jobs, and drives progress toward development and climate goals. Yet developing economies face an investment shortfall of historic proportions. Even as development needs rise, investment growth has slowed to about half its pace in the 2000s. Public investment alone cannot fill this gap. Private investment must play the leading role in reigniting growth, creating jobs, and supporting the transition to a more sustainable and resilient future. This book presents the World Bank’s most comprehensive assessment of investment in emerging and developing economies. It examines why investment matters, why it has stalled, and what it will take to revive it. The analysis highlights that countries that have successfully triggered investment booms combined sound macroeconomic frameworks with reforms that improved the business climate, strengthened governance, and mobilized private capital. History shows that when investment surges, economies grow faster, job creation accelerates, and poverty declines more rapidly. Reversing today’s slowdown is within reach — through credible fiscal and monetary policies, well-targeted public investment that attracts private capital, and stronger international cooperation to mobilize finance at scale. Reigniting investment is not just a national priority — it is a global imperative.Publication Commodity Markets Outlook, October 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-10-29)Commodity prices are expected to decline by about 7 percent overall this year, reflecting subdued global economic activity, elevated trade tensions and policy uncertainty, ample global supply of oil, and weather-related supply shocks. In 2026, commodity prices are forecast to fall by a further 7 percent, a fourth consecutive year of decline, as global growth remains sluggish and the oil market oversupplied. Energy price movements are envisaged to continue contributing to global disinflation in 2026. Metals and minerals prices are expected to remain stable in 2026, while agricultural prices are projected to edge down, primarily due to strong supply conditions. Precious metals prices are expected to rise another 5 percent, after a historically large, investment-driven rally of about 40 percent in 2025. Risks to the commodity price projections are tilted to the downside. Key downside risks include weaker-than-expected global growth, a longer-than-assumed period of economic policy uncertainty, and additional oversupply of oil. Upside risks include intensifying geopolitical tensions, the market impact of additional oil sanctions, supply reductions stemming from additional trade restrictions, unfavorable weather conditions, faster-than-expected rollout of new data centers. Commodity price volatility in recent years has revived interest in supply management via international commodity agreements. Historical experience, however, shows that the most effective policy is to promote diversification, innovation, transparency, and market-based pricing—measures that build lasting resilience to commodity price volatility.Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025: Strengthening AI Foundations(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-24)The recent rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has outpaced society’s ability to fully grasp its implications. Unlike technological shifts that have unfolded over decades, AI’s integration is accelerating at an unprecedented speed and scale. Along with AI’s immense opportunities come new responsibilities—especially for ethical deployment, accountability, and alignment with human values—that have few precedents in previous technology revolutions. This 2025 edition of the "Digital Progress and Trends Report (DPTR)" explores how low- and middle-income countries can harness AI to drive inclusive and sustainable development—and avoid being left behind. The report explains what makes AI different from earlier general-purpose technologies and why it matters for development. It introduces the 4Cs, the foundations essential for AI adoption, adaptation, and innovation: connectivity (infrastructure), compute (processing power), context (training data, algorithms, and applications), and competency (digital skills). Drawing on rich, novel data sets, this DPTR benchmarks countries across the 4Cs, analyzes supply and demand dynamics, and identifies market failures and externalities where policy action is urgently needed. This report emphasizes the need for global coordination and targeted interventions to close the widening AI gaps, where resource constraints threaten to exacerbate inequality. Policy insights will help governments unlock AI’s potential while navigating its risks.