Download or read book Middle East and North Africa Quarterly Economic Brief January 2015 written by Shantayanan Devarajan and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2015-01-31 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the three months since most observers, including the World Bank, issued their last forecasts, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region has changed substantially. Political tensions have eased somewhat with presidential and legislative elections completed in a few countries. Egypt’s cabinet approved the electoral constituencies’ law, the last step before calling for the House of Representatives elections, the final milestone in the political roadmap initiated in July 2013. Presidential elections were held in Tunisia, with Beji Caid Essebsi sworn in as the new president in December. Iran’s nuclear talks with the P5+1 were extended for 6 months--while bilateral talks continue—with the aim of reaching a deal in July 2015. In Iraq, the government and the Kurdish region reached an agreement in December resolving a longstanding dispute over the budget and distribution of oil revenues. Meanwhile, Lebanon, Yemen and Libya still struggle to maintain a functional government. The global economy is estimated to have expanded by 2.6 percent (q/q annualized rate), better than the second quarter of 2014, but unchanged from the slow pace seen in 2012 and 2013. But the most important development is that international oil prices have literally collapsed, reaching a level below $50 per barrel (Brent crude) in early January, a drop of 50 percent since their peak in mid-June 2014.
Download or read book Middle East and North Africa Quarterly Economic Brief January 2015 written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the three months since most observers, including the World Bank, issued their last forecasts, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region has changed substantially. Political tensions have eased somewhat with presidential and legislative elections completed in a few countries. Egypt's cabinet approved the electoral constituencies' law, the last step before calling for the House of Representatives elections, the final milestone in the political roadmap initiated in July 2013. Presidential elections were held in Tunisia, with Beji Caid Essebsi sworn in as the new president in December. Iran's nuclear talks with the P5+1 were extended for 6 months--while bilateral talks continueâ€" with the aim of reaching a deal in July 2015. In Iraq, the government and the Kurdish region reached an agreement in December resolving a longstanding dispute over the budget and distribution of oil revenues. Meanwhile, Lebanon, Yemen and Libya still struggle to maintain a functional government. The global economy is estimated to have expanded by 2.6 percent (q/q annualized rate), better than the second quarter of 2014, but unchanged from the slow pace seen in 2012 and 2013. But the most important development is that international oil prices have literally collapsed, reaching a level below
Download or read book Middle East and North Africa Quarterly Economic Brief January 2014 written by Shantayanan Devarajan and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2014-06-28 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ongoing regional tensions, together with a challenging (albeit slightly improving) external environment, have hit the economies of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region hard. Economic growth is slowing, fiscal buffers are depleting, unemployment is rising, and inflation is mounting in seven of the region’s most vulnerable economies-- Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen and Libya. Short-term policy actions such as increasing public sector wages and subsidies—aimed at reducing social tensions--exacerbate the situation, which is driven by long-standing structural weaknesses, including labor market rigidities, complicated and opaque regulations, infrastructure deficiencies, regressive and inefficient subsidies, and inadequate social safety nets. While these countries face an unstable political and macroeconomic environment, the growth slowdown after the Arab Spring creates a unique opportunity to address these structural problems to both create fiscal space and restructure the economy towards job creation and inclusive growth.
Download or read book MENA Quarterly Economic Brief January 2016 written by Shantayanan Devarajan and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-01-29 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This issue of the World Bank MENA Quarterly Economic Brief expects growth in the Middle East and North Africa to fall to 2.6 percent in 2015, from 2.8 percent predicted in October. The short term outlook remains “cautiously pessimistic†?. The poor performance of several MENA economies and their dim prospects for the future are mainly driven by the civil wars that have created death, destruction and significant growth shortfalls in both conflict countries and their neighbors. This report examines the different ways in which civil wars affect the economies of the region, including the important channel of forced displacement, which has become a crisis. Moreover, we explore how economic fortunes will turn around if there is peace. The report concludes that under peace settlement, a permanent transition from non democracy to democracy could improve economic growth significantly in the long run.
Download or read book Middle East and North Africa Quarterly Economic Brief January 2014 written by and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book MENA Quarterly Economic Brief January 2016 written by Shantayanan Devarajan and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The July 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and Germany (P5+1), with the attendant lifting of sanctions on Iran, will have significant consequences for the global, regional and national economies. First, Iran's return to the oil market, coupled with increased production from Libya (should the conflict subside) will keep world oil prices low. Secondly, once sanctions and restrictions on financial transactions are relaxed, Iran's trade, which had both declined in absolute terms and shifted away from Europe towards Asia and the Middle East, is likely to pick up. Thirdly, the Iranian economy, which has been in recession for the past two years, will receive a major boost from increased oil revenues--conservatively estimated at about USD 15 billion in the first year--and lower trade costs. This issue of the MENA Quarterly Economic Brief (QEB) traces these effects on the world oil market, on Iran's trading partners, and on the Iranian economy.
Download or read book MENA Quarterly Economic Brief January 2015 written by Shanta Devarajan and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Economic Impact of Conflicts and the Refugee Crisis in the Middle East and North Africa written by Mr.Bjoern Rother and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2016-09-16 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Middle East and North Africa Economic Monitor April 2015 written by Shantayanan Devarajan and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2015-04-14 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The economic outlook for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in 2015 is slightly more favorable than in 2013-14, when the region as a whole grew at 3 percent a year. The World Bank group’s latest MENA Economic Monitor projects MENA’s economic growth to average 5.2 percent in 2015 driven by domestic consumption, easing political tensions crowding-in investments in Egypt and Tunisia, and full resumption of oil production in Libya. However the violent conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Yemen and Libya with their spillovers to Lebanon and Jordan could make MENA’s economic prospects bleak. The report has a special focus on the corrosive nature of the large energy subsidies in MENA. The MENA region is currently experiencing growth below potential, high unemployment, urban air pollution and congestion, and severe water scarcity that is undermining agriculture. The report shows how energy subsidies have contributed to these development challenges. Reforming these subsidies, therefore, should be one of the highest priorities of policymakers.
Download or read book Middle East and North Africa Economic Monitor April 2016 written by Shantayanan Devarajan and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-04-11 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The short term economic outlook for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains “cautiously pessimistic†?. A combination of civil wars and refugee inflows, terrorist attacks, cheap oil, and subdued global economic recovery is expected to keep average growth in the MENA region around 3 percent in 2016, for the fourth year in a row. Furthermore, the humanitarian and economic situation in the war torn countries keep deteriorating. In this report we will explore ways in which a strategy of reconstruction of Syria—the most war-ravaged country in the region—could help foster a sustainable peace. This report argues that the impact of the civil war on the Syrian society will be persistent, and the challenges facing the country need to be addressed now. The report calls for the international community to be the guarantor of an inclusive reconstruction strategy that not only makes peace sustainable tomorrow, but makes it happen today: peace and reconstruction are two sides of the same coin.
Download or read book Subsidy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa written by Mr.Carlo A. Sdralevich and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-07-09 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Economic Sanctions written by Kristina Lyn Heitkamp and published by Greenhaven Publishing LLC. This book was released on 2018-07-15 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic sanctions, the withdrawal of established trade relations, have been used as a nonviolent strategy by governments around the world to varying success. The United States alone has twenty-six sanction programs in place today. Programs have recently shifted toward "smart" sanctions, with a goal of eliminating the suffering of civilians. The expert viewpoints in this enlightening resource examine, from an international perspective, whether or not economic sanctions are effective, in what situations they work best, and what other solutions might be more effective.
Download or read book State Owned Enterprises in Middle East North Africa and Central Asia Size Costs and Challenges written by Mr. Ernesto Ramirez Rigo and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-09-20 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Middle East and North Africa Economic Monitor October 2016 written by Devarajan, Shantayanan and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-08-23 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The year 2016 appears to be one of the toughest for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as their governments face serious policy challenges. The biggest challenge for oil exporters is managing their finances and diversification strategies with oil below $45 a barrel. Fiscal consolidation in a difficult sociopolitical environment and spillovers from conflicts are creating challenges for oil importers as well. Real GOP growth in MENA for 2016 is projected to fall to its lowest level since 2013 -- 2.3 percent -- lower than last year's growth by half a percentage point and about one percentage point lower than predicted in April 2016. It is clear that the disappointing performance of the MENA economies, and possibly the global economy, is partly due to the rise of terrorist attacks and spread of violent extremism. In this report, we attempt to shed light on the underlying causes of this phenomenon by applying an economic perspective to the demand for and supply of violent extremists. Looking at a dataset on foreign fighters joining Daesh, we find that the factors most strongly associated with foreign individuals' joining Daesh have to do with a lack of inclusion -- economic, social and religious -- in their country of origin. Promoting greater inclusion, therefore, could not only bring down the level of violent extremism, but it could improve economic performance in the MENA region."
Download or read book Money Markets and Monarchies written by Adam Hanieh and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-13 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Framed by a critical analysis of global capitalism, this book examines how the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council are powerfully shaping the political economy of the wider Middle East. Through unprecedented and fine-grained empirical research - encompassing sectors such as agribusiness, real estate, finance, retail, telecommunications, and urban utilities - Adam Hanieh lays out the pivotal role of the Gulf in the affairs of other Arab states. This vital but little recognised feature of the Middle East's political economy is essential to understanding contemporary regional dynamics, not least of which is the emergence of significant internal tensions within the Gulf itself. Bringing fresh insights and a novel interdisciplinary approach to debates across political economy, critical geography, and Middle East studies, this book fills an important gap in how we understand the region and its place in the global order.
Download or read book Global Economic Prospects January 2015 written by World Bank Publications and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2015-01-26 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As in previous years, global growth disappointed in 2014, but a lackluster recovery is underway, with increasingly divergent prospects in major economies and developing countries. Looking ahead, growth is expected to rise slowly, supported by continued recovery in highincome countries, low oil prices, and receding domestic headwinds in developing economies. However, continued weak global trade growth and gradually tightening financial conditions will constrain the recovery. Risks to the outlook remain tilted to the downside. In addition to discussing global and regional economic developments and prospects, this edition of Global Economic Prospects includes four essays that analyze key challenges and opportunities currently confronting developing countries: fiscal policy as a countercyclical policy tool; causes and implications of cheap oil; weak trade that fails to act as an engine of growth; and remittances as a means of steadying consumption during sudden stops. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report. On a semiannual basis (January and June), it examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on developing countries. The report includes analysis of topical policy challenges faced by developing countries through in-depth research in the January edition and shorter analytical pieces in the June edition.
Download or read book 2017 Near East and North Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2017 Near East and North Africa (NENA) edition of the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition comes under the theme of “building resilience for food security and nutrition in times of conflict and crisis”. The report establishes a baseline against which to measure future progress towards achieving SDG 2 on ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in NENA by monitoring the latest indicators for the SDG targets on hunger and food insecurity (SDG Target 2.1) and malnutrition (SDG Target 2.2). Beyond numbers, the report focuses on the fundamental factors that have driven improvements in food security and malnutrition: poverty reduction, economic growth, improvements in maternal and childhood nutrition and public health, increases in the quantity and quality of the food supply and cessation of violence. Moreover, the report brings into sharp focus the issue of conflict, which is the major driver of food insecurity in the NENA region. Food security in the NENA region is fast deteriorating, driven by conflict and leading to a widening gap in well-being between conflict and non-conflict countries. Conflicts have long-lasting impacts on the food security and nutrition of both affected and surrounding countries in the region. Not only is food security deteriorating in the conflict and spill over countries, but the high costs of perpetrating, containing, preventing and dealing with the consequences of violence undermine their ability to mitigate the decline in living standards.
