MENA Development Reports

24 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

This series features major development reports from the Middle East and North Africa region of the World Bank, based on new research and thoroughly peer reviewed analysis. Each report aims to enrich the debate on the major development challenges and opportunities the region faces as it strives to meet the evolving needs of its people.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 10 of 24
  • Publication
    Informality and Inclusive Growth in the Middle East and North Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-06-08) Sinha, Nistha; Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys; Ranzani, Marco; Elsheikhi, Adam
    The long-standing informality debate in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region has taken on a new urgency as it looks for a pathway to more socially inclusive growth that is less reliant on fossil fuels. This is occurring against a backdrop of subpar labor market outcomes, further growth setbacks, and deteriorating fiscal and current account de ficits in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic—and in the wake of high in flation and supply chain disruptions triggered by the Russian Federation–Ukraine war. "Informality and Inclusive Growth in the Middle East and North Africa" aims to better understand the characteristics and incentive structure that have led to the prevalence of informal employment in three MENA countries—the Arab Republic of Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. The report breaks new ground by adopting a comprehensive perspective to focus on the features of, and interrelationships among, different aspects of these countries’ institutional landscapes to make sense of the complex incentive structure that workers and firms face when deciding between formal and informal options. Specifically, the report groups these issues in three broad realms:(1) entrepreneur-worker relations, (2) taxes and transfers, and (3) market conditions.
  • Publication
    Exports to Improve Labor Markets in the Middle East and North Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-06-07) editors; Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys; Robertson, Raymond
    In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), trade liberalization measures have coincided with stable economic growth, and GDP per capita growth has surpassed that of other developing regions. However, MENA’s labor-market outcomes—such as average wage levels, informality rate, and female labor force participation—continue to underperform. Why has rising trade failed to produce better labor market outcomes in low- and middle-income countries in the region? Exports to Improve Labor Markets in the Middle East and North Africa focuses on the impact of trade policy on trade ¬flows and their relationship with local labor market outcomes in three low- and middle-income countries—the Arab Republic of Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. Given their idiosyncratic labor markets, export diversification, and trade policy history, these three countries other important lessons for economic development in the region. Policy makers and stakeholders can use these findings to design policies to improve the chances that higher trade flows will deliver better labor market outcomes and ensure that the benefits are more equally shared.
  • Publication
    Blue Skies, Blue Seas: Air Pollution, Marine Plastics, and Coastal Erosion in the Middle East and North Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02-07) Heger, Martin Philipp; Vashold, Lukas; Palacios, Anabella; Alahmadi, Mala; Bromhead, Marjory-Anne; Acerbi, Marcelo; Heger, Martin Philipp
    This book shows how virtually all forms of natural capital, but particularly “blue” natural capital – skies and seas – has been degrading in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region over the last three decades, and focuses on the three challenges of air pollution, marine plastics, and coastal erosion. MENA’s cities are on average more than 5 times as air-polluted as recommended by the WHO guidelines, and not a single MENA city, which reported data, meets them. MENA’s seas are amongst the most plastics-polluted in international comparison, particularly so the Mediterranean. Coastal erosion relentlessly eats away at the coastline, particularly so in the Maghreb region, where coastal erosion is about 10 times faster than the global average, which is 7 mm per year. This natural capital degradation has effects on people and the economy, which are assessed in this book. In terms of health impacts, ambient air pollution causes about 270,000 premature mortalities each year and is responsible for about 60 days of disease over the lifetime of the average MENA resident. In addition, the book reviews the evidence on the detrimental effects of microplastics, not only for the ecosystem, but also for human health. In terms of livelihood impacts, the effects or marine plastics and coastal erosion are reviewed and the costs to the blue economy, especially the tourism and the fisheries sectors, are assessed. The economic damages from the three priority areas, air pollution, marine plastics, and coastal erosion are estimated to amount to about 3 percent of regional GDP every year. Policy recommendations for getting to clean blue skies and blue seas are prepared. The recommendations elaborate on (a) how monitoring the degradation and providing information about its sources can be improved, (b) how market-based incentives for more sustainable blue resource use can be designed, (c) the kinds of regulatory reforms needed to strengthen institutions, and (d) the types of investments needed to move towards blue skies and blue seas.
  • Publication
    Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa Region
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-11-22) Hoogeveen, Johannes G.; Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys; Hoogeveen, Johannes G.; Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys
    COVID-19 is one of multiple crises to have hit the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the decade following the Arab Spring. War, oil price declines, economic slowdowns and now a pandemic are tearing at the social fabric of a region characterized by high rates of unemployment, high levels of informality and low annual economic growth. The economic costs of the pandemic are estimated at about $227 billion, and fiscal support packages across MENA are averaging 2.7 percent of GDP, putting pressure on already weak fiscal balances and making a quick recovery challenging. Pre-pandemic MENA was the only region in the world experiencing increases in poverty and declines in life satisfaction. This Report investigates how COVID-19 changed the welfare of individuals and households in the region. It does so by relying on phone surveys implemented across the region and complements these with micro-simulation exercises to assess the impact of COVID-19 on jobs, income, poverty and inequality. The two approaches perform a complementary task by corroborating each other’s results, thereby making the findings more robust and richer. This Report’s results show that in the short run, poverty rates in MENA will increase significantly, and that inequality will widen. A group of “new poor” is likely to emerge that may have difficulty to recover from the economic consequences of the pandemic. The Report adds value by analyzing newly gathered primary data, along with projections based on newly modelled micro-macro simulations and by identifying key issues that policy makers should focus on to enable a quick, inclusive and sustained economic recovery.
  • Publication
    The Reconstruction of Iraq after 2003: Learning from Its Successes and Failures
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-05-16) Matsunaga, Hideki
    Beginning in 2003, diverse and significant actors, both domestic and international, engaged in reconstruction activities in Iraq. The total budget committed to Iraq’s reconstruction was unprecedented among postconflict operations mobilized by the international community. Despite the vast sums of money spent, and the implementation of its many projects and programs, the donors and the Iraqi people view the reconstruction efforts in Iraq in a negative light. The Reconstruction of Iraq after 2003: Learning from Its Successes and Failures focuses on the period between 2003 and 2014—that is, after the United States–led invasion and overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime, and before the sudden rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Daesh. This book assesses several dimensions of Iraq’s reconstruction. First, it considers the response of key international actors, such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the United States, and other bilateral donors—specifically, the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom—as well as nongovernmental organizations. Second, it analyzes the process and results of the reconstruction of key sectors (electricity, oil, education, and health), and the interventions geared to institution building and governance reform. Pursuing effective reconstruction within the context of conflict and fragility is a formidable challenge because of the uncertain, fluid, and complex environment. Based on the experience in Iraq, how can the international community support the effectiveness and durability of reconstruction? This book identifies lessons in seven areas and offers four recommendations for international and domestic actors and citizens engaged in reconstruction activities. The Reconstruction of Iraq after 2003 is important reading for development practitioners and policy makers who are or will be engaged in reconstruction efforts in fragile and conflict-affected environments.
  • Publication
    Privilege-Resistant Policies in the Middle East and North Africa: Measurement and Operational Implications
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018-02-12) Mahmood, Syed Akhtar; Slimane, Meriem Ait Ali
    Renewing the social contract, one of the pillars of the new World Bank Group strategy for the Middle East and North Africa, requires a new development model built on greater trust; openness, transparency, inclusive and accountable service delivery; and a stronger private sector that can create jobs and opportunities for the youth of the region. Recent analytic work trying to explain weak job creation and insufficient private sector dynamism in the region point to formal and informal barriers to entry and competition. These barriers privilege a few (often unproductive) incumbents who enjoy a competition-edge due to their connections or ability to influence policy making and delivery. Policy recommendations to date in the field of governance for private sector policymaking have been too general and too removed from concrete, actionable policy outcomes. This report proposes -for the first time- to fill this policy and operational gap by answering the following question: What good governance features should be instilled in the design of economic policies and institutions to help shield them from capture, discretion and arbitrary implementation? The report proposes an innovative conceptual and measurement framework that encapsulates the governance features that could shield policies from capture, discretion and arbitrary enforcement that limits competition. The report offers a menu of operational and technical entry-points to enhance privilege-resistant policy making in a concrete way, that is politically tractable in different country contexts.
  • Publication
    Beyond Scarcity: Water Security in the Middle East and North Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018) World Bank
    Water has always been a source of risks and opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet rapidly changing socioeconomic, political, and environmental conditions make water security a different, and more urgent, challenge than ever before. This report shows that achieving water security means much more than coping with water scarcity. It means managing water resources in a sustainable, efficient, and equitable way. It also involves delivering water services reliably and affordably, to reinforce relationships between service providers and water users and contribute to a renewed social contract. Water security also entails mitigating water-related risks such as floods and droughts. Water security is an urgent target, but it is also a target within reach. A host of potential solutions to the region’s water management challenges exist. To make these solutions work, clear incentives are needed to change the way water is managed, conserved, and allocated. To make these solutions work, countries in the region will also need to better engage water users, civil society, and youth. The failure of policies to address water challenges can have severe impacts on people’s well-being and political stability. The strategic question for the region is whether countries will act with foresight and resolve to strengthen water security, or whether they will wait to react to the inevitable disruptions of water crises.
  • Publication
    Eruptions of Popular Anger: The Economics of the Arab Spring and Its Aftermath
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018) Ianchovichina, Elena
    Eruptions of Popular Anger: The Economics of the Arab Spring and Its Aftermath sets out to answer three puzzles—the “Arab inequality” puzzle of civil uprisings in countries with low-to-moderate and stagnant economic inequality, the “unhappy development” paradox of increasing dissatisfaction at a time of moderate-to-rapid development, and the paradox of political violence in middle-income countries. The book’s empirical investigation rules out high and rising inequality as a reason for the Arab Spring uprisings. It shows that the real problem was the erosion in middle-class incomes and the growing dissatisfaction with the quality of life, the shortage of formal sector jobs, and corruption. Frustration was particularly high among the young, educated, middle-class residents in urban areas. The old social contract, which had delivered development results in the past and under which Arab governments provided public-sector jobs and subsidized services in return for subdued voice, was unsustainable and malfunctioning. The public sector could no longer be the employer of choice, but the private sector did not generate enough formal sector jobs, because of distortions that constrained its growth and policies that offered advantages to a few firms with political connections, limiting competition and private investment. The breakdown in the social contract increased the premium on freedom and created impetus for political change. This report shows that the Arab Spring revolutions and the subsequent spread of violence and civil wars in the post–Arab Spring Middle East and North Africa region can be traced to the broken social contract, institutional weaknesses, and regional divisions in societies polarized along ethnic and sectarian lines. The Arab Spring and its aftermath indicate the need for a new social contract under which governments promote private-sector job creation, design public services in a way that holds providers accountable to beneficiaries, and promote inclusion and good governance.
  • Publication
    Jobs or Privileges : Unleashing the Employment Potential of the Middle East and North Africa
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2015) Schiffbauer, Marc; Hussain, Sahar; Sahnoun, Hania
    This report shows that in MENA, policies that lower competition and create an unleveled playing field abound and constrain private sector job creation. These policies take different forms across countries and sectors but share several common features: they limit free-entry in the domestic market, exclude certain firms from government programs, increase regulatory burden and uncertainty on non-privileged firms, insulate certain firms and sectors from foreign competition, and create incentives that discourage domestic firms from competing in international markets. The report shows that such policies are often captured by a few privileged firms with deep political connections, and that these policies persist despite their apparent cost to society. The millions of workers, consumers, and the majority of entrepreneurs who bear the brunt of that cost are often unaware of the adverse impact of these policies on the jobs and economic opportunities to which they aspire. This limits the scope for internal country debate and curtails the policy dialogue necessary for reform. Thus, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries face a critical choice in their quest for higher private sector growth and more jobs: promote competition, equal opportunities for all entrepreneurs and dismantle existing privileges to specific firms or risk perpetuating the current equilibrium of low job creation.
  • Publication
    The Road Traveled: Dubai's Journey towards Improving Private Education - A World Bank Review
    (2014-03-21) Thacker, Simon; Cuadra, Ernesto
    As Dubai has grown over the last two decades, the demand for private education has grown with it, a reflection of the number of expatriates settling in the city. Today, 88 percent of all students attend private schools. The surge in demand over this period had in fact been so significant that authorities, recognizing the need to establish a specific governmental entity to oversee the sector s expansion, moved to create the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in 2007. Given the city-state s unique context (in which a majority of the population are expatriates, not Emiratis), the immediate challenge for this new public institution was to identify an appropriate approach for regulating a private education sector. The main objective of the present review is to understand what has motivated KHDA s policy initiatives, what principles have guided design, how they were operationalized, and how they function in real life situations today. In what follows, we look first at the broader context of the issue by giving a brief overview of: (i) the growth of private sector education; and (ii) the rise of public governance reform initiatives in the global education policy agenda. The authors then turn to the case of Dubai: the authors present the argument in the road not traveled before reviewing how that policy framework was translated into its present institutional configuration in Dubai through the development of the institutions that came into being. The authors then reflect on the policy framework in operation, showing how the constituent components function together. The authors end by suggesting some options on potential ways forward that will further enhance the system.