Knowledge Economies in the Middle East and North Africa
Knowledge Economies in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Jean-Eric Aubert

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2003-01-01

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 9780821357019

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The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been facing considerable economic challenges. Left behind by the industrial revolution, overly dependent on oil resources, and on the fringes of the globalization process, a number of MENA countries have embarked on structural reforms to overcome economic stagnation, mounting unemployment, and increasing poverty. At the same time, there is growing awareness worldwide that the knowledge revolution offers new opportunities for growth resulting from the availability of information and communication technologies and from the advent of a new form of global economic development rooted in the concept of the knowledge economy, which is based on the creation, acquisition, distribution, and use of knowledge. This book, developed from papers prepared for a World Bank sponsored conference, assesses the challenges confronting the regionA's countries and analyzes their readiness for the knowledge economy based on a set of indicators. It provides quantitative analysis to help benchmark the countries against worldwide knowledge economy trends, identifies key implementation issues, and presents relevant policy experiences. The basic policy elements that underpin a strategy to prepare for a knowledge-based economy are discussed, including: the renovation of education systems, the creation of a climate conducive to innovation, and the development of an efficient telecommunications infrastructure as the foundation of a new era. The formulation of national visions and strategies is also discussed. Examples from the region and other parts of the world illustrate the chapters. A set of data that makes it possible to benchmark and position countriesA' readiness for the knowledge economy is presented in an appendix.

Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa
Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Mr.Hamid R Davoodi

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2003-09-05

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 9781589062290

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The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is an economically diverse region. Despite undertaking economic reforms in many countries, and having considerable success in avoiding crises and achieving macroeconomic stability, the region’s economic performance in the past 30 years has been below potential. This paper takes stock of the region’s relatively weak performance, explores the reasons for this out come, and proposes an agenda for urgent reforms.

The Economics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The Economics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Author: Joseph Pelzman

Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company

Published: 2012-06-26

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9813108029

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The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a large, complex, and diverse region, which faces a wide range of economic issues. The MENA group includes Algeria, Bahrain, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. This book uses analytical tools drawn from the trade, labor, finance, and development literature to critically analyze and compare these countries' economic policies. The approach taken in this book is to focus on the economic policies and institutional arrangements which have evolved in MENA and which may serve to explain the differences in each country's economic performance. The key objective of the book is to unravel the context-specific variety of growth-promoting policies within MENA rather than focus on specific countries. This book stresses that the poor performance of Arab MENA can be chiefly explained by their aversion to a Western paradigm of market economics. In the advanced industrial countries and in Israel, “globalization” is largely viewed in economic terms — the free movement of goods, services, labor and capital across borders. In the Arab MENA, however, “globalization” is viewed in largely ideological terms and has been regarded as a new version of imperialism. Consequently, the Arab MENA region remains one of the most un-globalized regions in the world. The book serves as both a textbook and a summary of the very large literature on MENA. It examines the following economic realities of the region and compares them across the MENA economies: Technology gap and comparative developmentThe value of education and human capital developmentWater and food securityThe economics and politics of oilPopulation growth, role of gender, and labor mobilityThe role of the state as economic actorThe economic value of democracyThe prospects for regional integration

The Upside of Digital for the Middle East and North Africa
The Upside of Digital for the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Ana Paula Cusolito

Publisher:

Published: 2022-05-02

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781464816635

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Digital transformation can yield large socio-economic gains, in terms of increased growth in GDP, sector activity, and jobs. Widespread use of digital tools significantly reduces costs, rendering economic activity more productive.

Broadband Networks in the Middle East and North Africa
Broadband Networks in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Natalija Gelvanovska

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2014-02-11

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 1464801134

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The existing telecommunications infrastructure in the Middle East and North Africa MENA suffers from various regulatory and market bottlenecks that are hampering the growth of the Internet in most countries and related access to information and to potential new job sources.

Eruptions of Popular Anger
Eruptions of Popular Anger

Author: Elena Ianchovichina

Publisher: Mena Development Report

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 9781464811524

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The Arab Spring protests caught most of the world by surprise and precipitated a chain of events that changed the course of history in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), ushering in a period of prolonged political instability and intense civil conflicts. The analysis of the Arab Spring aftermath sheds light on the interplay between economic, behavioral, institutional, and political factors that have influenced the transitions across the region and the risk of civil conflict. The study draws on four main bodies of literature on poverty and inequality, subjective well-being, civil conflict, and macroeconomics as well as on an eclectic mix of quantitative and qualitative methods and data. Given the complex nature of the Arab Spring and its aftermath, the study touches also on areas related to political economy and governance.

Sustaining Gains in Poverty Reduction and Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa
Sustaining Gains in Poverty Reduction and Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Farrukh Iqbal

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 0821365282

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This book reviews the experience of the MENA region with poverty and human development since the mid-1980s. It finds that poverty rates did not decline by much during this period while health and education indicators improved substantially. The stagnation of poverty rates is ascribed to the stagnation of the region's economies during this period while the improvement in human indicators is likely due to several factors including improvement in the delivery of public health and education services.

OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2018-2027
OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2018-2027

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2018-07-03

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 9264062033

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The fourteenth joint edition of the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook provides market projections for major agricultural commodities, biofuels and fish, as well as a special feature on the prospects and challenges of agriculture and fisheries in the Middle East and North Africa.

State-Owned Enterprises in Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia: Size, Costs, and Challenges
State-Owned Enterprises in Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia: Size, Costs, and Challenges

Author: Mr. Ernesto Ramirez Rigo

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2021-09-20

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 1513594087

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Prior to the COVID-19 shock, the key challenge facing policymakers in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia region was how to generate strong, sustainable, job-rich, inclusive growth. Post-COVID-19, this challenge has only grown given the additional reduction in fiscal space due to the crisis and the increased need to support the recovery. The sizable state-owned enterprise (SOE) footprint in the region, together with its cost to the government, call for revisiting the SOE sector to help open fiscal space and look for growth opportunities.