Challenges Of Economic Development In The Middle East And North Africa Region
Challenges Of Economic Development In The Middle East And North Africa Region

Author: Julia C Devlin

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2010-01-20

Total Pages: 566

ISBN-13: 9814471658

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This book surveys major economic issues in the development of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since World War II. It presents a framework of analysis highlighting underlying continuities in the region's approach to issues of growth, management of oil and natural resources, post-conflict environments, progress in trade liberalization and regional integration, the use of industrial policy, labor market adjustment and unemployment, educational attainment and poverty incidence. At the same time, this book focuses on emerging differences across countries in the region in the prevailing approach to addressing such challenges most notably between the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council and other MENA countries.This book also incorporates a discussion of tools and methods used by development practitioners and briefly examines issues of aid effectiveness. The approach used is intended to appeal to a wide audience including students of economic development, political scientists and development practitioners.

Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa
Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Mustapha Rouis

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2012-12-11

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 082139729X

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This book summarizes the constraints to and opportunities for deepening economic integration within the MENA region and beyond. Trade and investment reform are discussed together with physical connectivity, cross-border trade facilitation, infrastructure networks, and the vital role of logistics.

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.

Trade Liberalization and Poverty in the Middle East and North Africa
Trade Liberalization and Poverty in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Nicholas Minot

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 089629174X

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Agricultural trade liberalization has been resisted by many developing-country policymakers, including those in the Middle East and North Africa, for fear it could hurt domestic farmers and exacerbate poverty. The authors of Trade Liberalization and Poverty in the Middle East and North Africa argue, however, that this concern about liberalization might be misplaced. Drawing on case studies from Egypt, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia, the study uses household survey data and computable general equilibrium models to simulate the effects of various liberalization scenarios on different types of households in these countries, especially poor households. The results indicate that agricultural trade barriers are not an effective means of protecting the poor and that the benefits from many forms of agricultural trade liberalization to the region's consumers outweigh the costs to producers. If complemented with other domestic programs-including agricultural research and extension, information services, disease control, and social safety nets-the reforms have the potential to reduce poverty in these nations. The study findings are a valuable resource for policymakers and development specialists evaluating the role trade liberalization can play in economic development and poverty reduction.

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.

Subsidy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa
Subsidy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Mr.Carlo A Sdralevich

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2014-07-09

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 1498350437

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In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries price subsidies are common, especially on food and fuels. However, these are neither well targeted nor cost effective as a social protection tool, often benefiting mainly the better off instead of the poor and vulnerable. This paper explores the challenges of replacing generalized price subsidies with more equitable social safety net instruments, including the short-term inflationary effects, and describes the features of successful subsidy reforms.

Economic Integration in the Maghreb
Economic Integration in the Maghreb

Author: Mr.Alexei P Kireyev

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2019-02-13

Total Pages: 47

ISBN-13: 1484378377

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Individual countries of the Maghreb have achieved substantial progress on trade, but, as a region they remain the least integrated in the world. The share of intraregional trade is less than 5 percent of their total trade, substantially lower than in all other regional trading blocs around the world. Geopolitical considerations and restrictive economic policies have stifled regional integration. Economic policies have been guided by country-level considerations, with little attention to the region, and are not coordinated. Restrictions on trade and capital flows remain substantial and constrain regional integration for the private sector.

The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty
The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789287042323

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The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty looks at the complex relationships between economic growth, poverty reduction and trade, and examines the challenges that poor people face in benefiting from trade opportunities. Written jointly by the World Bank Group and the WTO, the publication examines how trade could make a greater contribution to ending poverty by increasing efforts to lower trade costs, improve the enabling environment, implement trade policy in conjunction with other areas of policy, better manage risks faced by the poor, and improve data used for policy-making.

Trade Competitiveness of the Middle East and North Africa
Trade Competitiveness of the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Jos R. L pez-C lix

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2010-07-01

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0821380753

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Over the past decade, four major developments in global economic integration have shaped trade policy and the economic performance of countries within the Middle East and North Africa region: the emergence of global supply chains, the growth of trade in services, the rise of China and India as major international trading powers, and regional integration. These developments, along with the labor and natural resource endowments of particular countries (some are resource-poor but labor-abundant, some resource-rich and labor-abundant, and some resource-rich and labor-importing), have influenced export diversification outcomes across the region. Yet these countries may not be taking full advantage of all of the opportunities the four new trends offer to them. 'Trade Competitiveness of the Middle East and North Africa: Policies for Export Diversification' examines the region's trade policy agendas and their results by focusing on the countries' response to these four key developments in international trade. As the region recovers from the global financial and economic crises, the book identifies reforms that could allow countries to further strengthen global production networks, benefit more from trade in services, better compete in external markets to face the rise of China and India, and reach the full potential of regional integration. If thoroughly implemented, especially by oil exporters, all of these reforms could help boost growth and job creation in the region.

The Economic Impact of Conflicts and the Refugee Crisis in the Middle East and North Africa
The Economic Impact of Conflicts and the Refugee Crisis in the Middle East and North Africa

Author: Mr.Bjoern Rother

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 43

ISBN-13: 1475535783

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In recent decades, the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) has experienced more frequent and severe conflicts than in any other region of the world, exacting a devastating human toll. The region now faces unprecedented challenges, including the emergence of violent non-state actors, significant destruction, and a refugee crisis bigger than any since World War II. This paper raises awareness of the economic costs of conflicts on the countries directly involved and on their neighbors. It argues that appropriate macroeconomic policies can help mitigate the impact of conflicts in the short term, and that fostering higher and more inclusive growth can help address some of the root causes of conflicts over the long term. The paper also highlights the crucial role of external partners, including the IMF, in helping MENA countries tackle these challenges.