Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially female entrepreneurs, face steep challenges in accessing finance and credit. This situation is now even more dire...
The Government of Jordan has strengthened its commitment in recent years to gender equality and women's social and economic empowerment through Jordan's Renaissance Plan 2019-2020 and more recently through...
Efforts in Afghanistan have sought to enable systematized data disclosures and simplify data collection efforts, given security concerns that often restrict movement and coordination. In this context...
Fiscal transparency is a vital requirement for effective fiscal policymaking. Budgets, including their underlying fiscal forecasts, must provide a clear statement of the government’s budgetary objectives...
The PIM Assessment resulted in the establishment of an Action Plan to strengthen the system. Given weak institutional capacity and limited resources, the Plan should include quick-win options where possible...
A government's provision of complementary public goods, such as roads and bridges, facilitates the development of markets leading to long-term economic growth. Private enterprise, by itself, is unlikely...
The MNA region has rich marine ecosystems that can play a key role in eroding extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity through the Blue Economy—the sustainable use of marine resources for economic...
There is a strong link between efficient and effective public procurement and good governance. Public procurement is at the core of translating public policy into tangible results for citizens, delivering...
MENA economies have been experiencing moderate to high growth in GDP with stagnant growth in employment, a phenomenon of "jobless growth" since the 1970s. This dire situation in MENA is a result of the...
Ensuring equitable access to jobs and reducing gender gaps is essential for putting MENA countries on the path to inclusive growth and stability. Giving women and girls the opportunity to succeed can transform...
Citizen engagement is not a new concept in the world of development. Notions of social accountability, citizen participation, voice, have been around development programs for many years. Adopted in 2014...
This brief discusses refugee welfare in Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Refugee flows can significantly alter the social and economic fabric of host communities, with the impact depending on initial...
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is among the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change. The region is projected to experience increasing temperatures, water stress, and instances of extreme...
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is no stranger to extreme temperatures. It is predicted that these extremes will worsen in the coming decades. Compounded by changing precipitation patterns...
Countries around the globe are seeking to diversify their economies and make them competitive. For this to happen, resources need to flow to firms that can make the best use of them. This is not the case...
Iraq, once a relatively skilled and economically prosperous society, has seen its development thwarted by decades of conflict and economic decline. Today it is an upper middle-income, resource-rich, yet...
This year will be the fifth consecutive year with global growth below its long-term trend of 3.5 percent observed during 2000-07, standing at last year’s 2.4 percent. This is 0.5 percent below January’s...
In a region beset with major challenges, some remarkable progress has been achieved in the development and modernization of public procurement systems. Important procurement reform milestones were recently...
Since September 2014, world crude oil prices have fallen by more than half, setting a new low at 30 US dollars a barrel (Brent crude) in February 2016. Since then, prices rallied to 50 dollars a barrel...