Publication:
Employment Creation and Social Protection in the Middle East and North Africa

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (10.61 MB)
871 downloads
English Text (809.21 KB)
553 downloads
Published
2002
ISSN
Date
2013-08-21
Abstract
This book describes and analyzes critical aspects of the labor market and social protection in the Arab world. The authors address the interrelationship between labor, human development, and social well-being in the Middle East and North Africa region -- an interaction that is viewed against the backdrop of a globalization process that is a crucial shaping factor in national and international relations alike. The authors scrutinize the implications for workers of the new forms of insecurity being ushered in by the globalization era. At the forefront is the issue of social protection, which creates several dilemmas for policymakers, since formal social security covers only a small percentage of the labor force. The idea of social reinsurance, which would integrate the informal sector and allow for social dialog, emerges at various levels, and there is general agreement that any such dialog, or new social contract, must include government, the private sector, and civil society.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Handoussa, Heba; Tzannatos, Zafiris. Handoussa, Heba; Tzannatos, Zafiris, editors. 2002. Employment Creation and Social Protection in the Middle East and North Africa. Mediterrananean Development Forum;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15246 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Building Effective Employment Programs for Unemployed Youth in the Middle East and North Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013) Kuddo, Arvo; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Semlali, Amina; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Kuddo, Arvo; Semlali, Amina; Belghazi, Saad; Hilger, Anne; Leon-Solano, Rene; Wazzan, May; Zovighian, Diane
    This study surveys active labor market programs (ALMPs) in selected countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, identifies key challenges to their effective and efficient delivery, and proposes a policy framework for reforming public service provision. This study draws on data collected through surveys administered to public social, employment, and education agencies in selected MENA countries to identify key constraints and options for reforming publicly provided employment programs. Recent political transitions arising from the Arab Spring have contributed to the deterioration of labor market outcomes in the MENA region. In this context, ALMPs could become an important policy lever to address some of the challenges facing labor markets. These include: joblessness, skills mismatches, lack of labor market mobility, large and expanding informal sector, and lack of formal employment networks. The study also provides specific details on the beneficiaries, targeting, and expenditures of ALMPs during this same period.
  • Publication
    Public Employment Services and Publicly Provided ALMPs in Egypt
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-01) Semlali, Amina; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.
    This note presents a brief overview of Public Employment Services (PES) in Egypt and describes the institutional framework for public delivery of Active Labor Market Programs (ALMPs) in Egypt. Egypt has the fourth largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region and has implemented economic reforms since 2004 which have led to some economic growth (e.g. a fast growing technology sector and the country has been recognized as one of the top offshoring destinations for international companies).
  • Publication
    Morocco
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-05-26) El Kadiri, Fatima; Angel-Urdinola, Diego F.; Pallares-Miralles, Montserrat
    Main macroeconomic indicators in Morocco (notably economic growth, inflation) are expected to remain appropriate in the short-medium term. Despite negative impacts in the economy due to developments in the Eurozone, in particular sovereign debt crises in Spain and Italy, among other countries, economic growth in Morocco has been positive averaging 4.3 percent per year between years 2010 and 2013. Morocco has displayed important progress in the Bank’s twin objectives of reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity. Inequality and vulnerability remain important challenges. Despite some notable progress on key human development indicators, Morocco still lags behind in health and education achievements. One of the key challenges for Morocco is that economic growth has not achieved enough employment growth to the needs of a saturated labor market. To achieve faster economic growth, Morocco will need a structural transformation of its economy, with a focus on broadening economic opportunities. Low employment rates in Morocco are largely explained by very low rates of participation of women in the labor force. Most employment creation in Morocco happens in the services and construction sectors, while the agriculture and manufacturing sectors (as these sectors become more productive and substitute labor by capital) actually suffer from net job destruction of approximately 35 thousand jobs per year.
  • Publication
    Romania - Functional Review : Labor and Social Protection Sector, Final Report, Volume 2
    (Washington, DC, 2011-06) World Bank
    The Government of Romania (GOR), in agreement with the European Commission (EC), requested functional reviews of the Romanian public administration through an independent advisory service with the World Bank. The general objective of this advisory service is to review the current situation of the Labor and Social Protection (L&SP) sector, assess its functioning and develop an action plan that the GOR can use over the short- to medium-term to strengthen its effectiveness in the public administration. In meeting this objective, the World Bank examined: (i) whether the policy goals and objectives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection (MoLFSP) and its agencies are clearly defined in measurable and achievable terms; (ii) whether the management systems, policies, staffing, and organizational structure are appropriate for them to meet their objectives; and (iii) whether factors external to the institutions that may impede their ability to meet their objectives. The report is organized into two volumes. Volume One summarizes the main findings and messages, presents priorities for reform, and suggests an action plan to carry out these priority reforms. Volume Two provides chapters with the background diagnostics, assessment and findings in depth, covering: Main Sector Features and Institutional Mapping; Ministry of Labor Family and Social Protection; Labor Market; Pensions; Social Assistance (Cash Transfers); Social Assistance Services; Information Management (cross-cutting)
  • Publication
    Armenia - Labor Market Dynamics : Volume 1. Overview
    (Washington, DC, 2007-05) World Bank
    This study is intended to help Armenian policymakers better understand the main factors behind modest labor market outcomes and to identify policy options to create more and better jobs. The report is based on data from administrative statistics, labor force surveys, and household surveys. The objective of the study is to determine the main factors behind poor labor market outcomes in Armenia: high unemployment of long duration despite rapid economic growth. To do so, it will assess, first, the key characteristics of the demand for labor. These include (a) the impact of macroeconomic policies on job growth; (b) wage flexibility and unit labor costs; (c) cost-of-doing-business factors, including costs, risks, and barriers to competition faced by firms; and (d) employment promotion legislation and labor market institutions. Recommendations are made on policies that can promote an effective and sustainable increased demand for labor; second, the key characteristics of the supply of labor, including the impact of long-term demographic developments and labor migration, and the impact of social benefits on the reallocation of labor. Policy options are analyzed that can support the development of an efficient supply of labor to a modern high-wage market economy; and, third, the mechanisms by which employers and workers are brought into contact with each other, and recommend policies that support efficient and effective labor market institutions. The report consists of two volumes. Volume I provides an overview of the study and summarizes its conclusions. Volume II provides a more technical and detailed analysis of various aspects of labor market transition in Armenia.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    World Development Report 2018
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018) World Bank
    Every year, the World Bank's World Development Report takes on a topic of central importance to global development. The 2018 Report, Learning to Realize Education's Promise, is the first ever devoted entirely to education. Now is an excellent time for it: education has long been critical for human welfare, but is even more so in a time of rapid economic change. The Report explores four main themes. First, education's promise: Education is a powerful instrument for eradicating poverty and promoting shared prosperity, but fulfilling its potential requires better policies - both within and outside the education system. Second, the learning crisis: Despite gains in education access, recent learning assessments show that many young people around the world, especially from poor families, are leaving school unequipped with even the most foundational skills they need for life. At the same time, internationally comparable learning assessments show that skills in many middle-income countries lag far behind what those countries aspire to. Third, promising interventions to improve learning: Research from areas such as brain science, pedagogical innovations, or school management have identified interventions that promote learning by ensuring that learners are prepared, that teachers are skilled as well as motivated, and that other inputs support the teacher-learner relationship. Fourth, learning at scale: Achieving learning throughout an education system will require more than just scaling up effective interventions. Change requires overcoming technical and political barriers by deploying salient metrics for mobilizing actors and tracking progress, building coalitions for learning, and being adaptive when implementing programs.
  • Publication
    The Role of Desalination in an Increasingly Water-Scarce World
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03) World Bank
    The cost of desalination has been plummeting over the years. As a result, desalination has become a viable option for certain strategic uses. Today, over 20,000 desalination plants in more than 150 countries supply about 300 million people with freshwater every day. Initially a niche product for energy rich and water scarce cities, particularly in the Middle East, the continued decrease in cost and environmental viability of desalination has the potential to significantly expand its use - particularly for rapidly growing water scarce coastal cities. Desalination can be seen as one option in a portfolio water supply sources, including traditional surface water and groundwater sources as well as wastewater reuse, to meet growing water demand gap. Although still relatively expensive, desalination offers the potential to enhance system reliability. As renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar expand, and as advances in concentrate management techniques make discharges from desalination plants much cheaper and safer, the prospect of producing freshwater from the sea without increasing greenhouse gases and without significant damages to the local environment become more promising.
  • Publication
    World Development Report 2017
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017-01-30) World Bank Group
    Why are carefully designed, sensible policies too often not adopted or implemented? When they are, why do they often fail to generate development outcomes such as security, growth, and equity? And why do some bad policies endure? This book addresses these fundamental questions, which are at the heart of development. Policy making and policy implementation do not occur in a vacuum. Rather, they take place in complex political and social settings, in which individuals and groups with unequal power interact within changing rules as they pursue conflicting interests. The process of these interactions is what this Report calls governance, and the space in which these interactions take place, the policy arena. The capacity of actors to commit and their willingness to cooperate and coordinate to achieve socially desirable goals are what matter for effectiveness. However, who bargains, who is excluded, and what barriers block entry to the policy arena determine the selection and implementation of policies and, consequently, their impact on development outcomes. Exclusion, capture, and clientelism are manifestations of power asymmetries that lead to failures to achieve security, growth, and equity. The distribution of power in society is partly determined by history. Yet, there is room for positive change. This Report reveals that governance can mitigate, even overcome, power asymmetries to bring about more effective policy interventions that achieve sustainable improvements in security, growth, and equity. This happens by shifting the incentives of those with power, reshaping their preferences in favor of good outcomes, and taking into account the interests of previously excluded participants. These changes can come about through bargains among elites and greater citizen engagement, as well as by international actors supporting rules that strengthen coalitions for reform.
  • Publication
    Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05) World Bank
    Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.
  • Publication
    Global Economic Prospects, January 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-01-09) World Bank
    Note: Chart 1.2.B has been updated on January 18, 2024. Chart 2.2.3 B has been updated on January 14, 2024. Global growth is expected to slow further this year, reflecting the lagged and ongoing effects of tight monetary policy to rein in inflation, restrictive credit conditions, and anemic global trade and investment. Downside risks include an escalation of the recent conflict in the Middle East, financial stress, persistent inflation, weaker-than-expected activity in China, trade fragmentation, and climate-related disasters. Against this backdrop, policy makers face enormous challenges. In emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), commodity exporters face the enduring challenges posed by fiscal policy procyclicality and volatility, which highlight the need for robust fiscal frameworks. Across EMDEs, previous episodes of investment growth acceleration underscore the critical importance of macroeconomic and structural policies and an enabling institutional environment in bolstering investment and long-term growth. At the global level, cooperation needs to be strengthened to provide debt relief, facilitate trade integration, tackle climate change, and alleviate food insecurity.