Economic Challenges facing Middle Eastern and North African Countries

Economic Challenges facing Middle Eastern and North African Countries PDF Author: Nemat Shafik
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349261246
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
An authoritative analysis of economic performance in Middle Eastern and North African countries are presented by scholars in the region. The papers focus on the implications of changes in the world economy, in the role of the private sector, and in the need for human resource development. Country studies are presented for Egypt, the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey.

Economic Challenges facing Middle Eastern and North African Countries

Economic Challenges facing Middle Eastern and North African Countries PDF Author: Nemat Shafik
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349261246
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book Here

Book Description
An authoritative analysis of economic performance in Middle Eastern and North African countries are presented by scholars in the region. The papers focus on the implications of changes in the world economy, in the role of the private sector, and in the need for human resource development. Country studies are presented for Egypt, the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey.

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

Challenges Of Economic Development In The Middle East And North Africa Region PDF Author: Julia C Devlin
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814471658
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 566

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Book Description
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.

The Political and Economic Challenges of Energy in the Middle East and North Africa

The Political and Economic Challenges of Energy in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: David Ramin Jalilvand
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351783483
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are in disarray, and shifts in the field of energy have the potential to drastically affect the course of political and economic developments in the region. Declining oil prices, skyrocketing domestic demand, the rise of unconventional oil and natural gas production in North America, as well as shifting patterns of global energy trade all put severe pressures on both producing and importing countries in the MENA region. Policy-makers are facing fundamental challenges in light of the duality of grand transformations in (geo)politics and energy. Changes in the field of energy require substantial political and economic reforms, affecting the very fabric of sociopolitical arrangements. At the same time, the MENA region’s geopolitical volatility makes any such reforms extremely risky. Including contributions by academics and analysts from both inside and outside the MENA region, this volume explores the changes in global and regional energy, the impact of changing international energy dynamics on politics and economies in the MENA region, and the challenges that will result. This is essential reading for researchers, postgraduates, and professionals in Middle Eastern and North African politics, global energy governance and regionalism.

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

Challenges of Growth and Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Mr.Hamid R Davoodi
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 9781589062290
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
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.

Economic and Social Issues in the Middle East and North African Countries

Economic and Social Issues in the Middle East and North African Countries PDF Author: Nilgün Çil Yavuz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781629481609
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries have witnessed important complex economic, social and political changes and transition recently. These changes resulted from not only social and political reasons called "the Arab Spring" but also economic reasons from the global economic crisis. External and internal dynamics of the MENA region force governments into an important transformation in terms of better democratic mechanisms, better governance and better social, political and economic environment. It is vital for the MENA region to establish a modern and world class social, political and economic structure in order to increase sustainable improvements of the welfare of the society as soon as possible. MENA economies have a great degree of heterogeneity across countries. The main source of economic growth is natural resources especially oil, natural gas and primary goods for many MENA economies. For this reason, the fluctuations in energy prices in the global economy deeply affect the economic performance and macroeconomic indicators of these economies. Therefore, MENA economies are exposed to macroeconomic vulnerability in the case of internal and external economic and political shocks because of their structural economic problems, low productivity and also global competitiveness level and foreign dependency in intermediate goods and finance. In this perspective, the main aim of this book is to shed light on the main economic, social and political problems and characteristics of MENA economies by considering the latest in the global and regional turmoil.

Breaking the Barriers to Higher Economic Growth

Breaking the Barriers to Higher Economic Growth PDF Author: Mustapha Kamel Nabli
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821374168
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 500

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Book Description
The world's attention to the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has often been dominated by headline issues: conflict, sanctions, political turmoil, and rising oil prices. Little of this international attention has considered the broad range of development challenges facing this diverse group of countries. Breaking the Barriers reflects the collected thinking of the World Bank's Office of the Chief Economist for the MENA Region on the long-term development challenges facing the region and the reform priorities and strategies for effectively meeting these challenges. It.

Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa

Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Mohamed Sami Ben Ali
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137480661
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
Using cases on individual countries, Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa offers diverse theoretical and empirical evidence on a variety of issues facing policymakers, investors, and other stakeholders in the region.

Prospects for Middle Eastern and North African Economies

Prospects for Middle Eastern and North African Economies PDF Author: Nemat Shafik
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349261378
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
Economic prospects for the countries of the Middle East and North Africa are assessed in light of the changing world economy, increasing integration of trade and financial markets, greater needs for educated labour, and growing concerns about poverty and environmental degradation. Cross-country papers on thematic topics by international scholars are presented. The need for major economic reforms is emphasized if the region is to use greater integration in the world economy as the basis for generating growth and jobs and reducing poverty.

An Economic History of the Middle East and North Africa

An Economic History of the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Charles Issawi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134560516
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
The economic history of the Middle East and North Africa is quite extraordinary. This is an axiomatic statement, but the very nature of the economic changes that have stemmed directly from the effects of oil resources in these areas has tended to obscure longterm patterns of economic change and the fundamental transformation of Middle Eastern and North African economies and societies over the past two hundred years. In this study Professor Issawi examines and explains the development of these economies since 1800, focusing particularly on the challenge posed by the use and subsequent decline of Western economic and political domination and the Middle Eastern response to it. The book beg ins with an analysis of the effects of foreign intervention in the area: the expansion of trade, the development of transport networks, the influx of foreign capital and resulting integration into international commercial and financial networks. It goes on to examine the local response to these external forces: migration within, to and from the region, population growth, urbanization and changes in living standards, shifts in agricultural production and land tenure and the development of an industrial sector. Professor Issawi discusses the crucial effects of the growth of oil and oil-related industries in a separate chapter, and finally assesses the likely gains and losses in this long period for both the countries in the area and the Western powers. He has drawn on long experience and an immense amount of material in surveying the period, and provides a clear and penetrating survey of an extraordinarily complex area.

U. S. Trade and Investment in the Middle East and North Africa: Overview and Issues for Congress

U. S. Trade and Investment in the Middle East and North Africa: Overview and Issues for Congress PDF Author: Rebecca M. Nelson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN: 9781482765106
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
U.S. interest in deepening economic ties with certain countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has increased in light of the political unrest and transitions that have swept the region since early 2011. Policymakers in Congress and the Obama Administration are discussing ways that U.S. trade and investment can bolster long-term economic growth in the region. In May 2011, President Obama announced the MENA “Trade and Investment Partnership Initiative” (MENA-TIP), through which various federal government agencies are engaged in efforts to enhance trade and investment with the region. Such activities are in line with longstanding U.S. trade policy goals and measures. Some Members of Congress have called for deeper economic ties with MENA countries undergoing political change. However, continued political uncertainty and changing security environments in the region have prompted greater scrutiny of U.S. engagement. This report analyzes policy approaches that the Congress might consider concerning U.S.-MENA trade and investment. MENA Economies and Integration in the Global Economy - Economic performance in the MENA as a whole lags behind other regions in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (living standards), employment, and economic diversification, despite the fact that several MENA countries are major producers of oil and natural gas. Limited integration in the global economy is frequently cited as an obstacle to the region's overall economic development. MENA's trade with the world is concentrated in a small number of products (oil exports and imports of manufactured goods) and among a small number of trading partners (particularly the European Union). Tariffs also remain high in some MENA countries and intra-regional trade and investment flows are relatively low. With regard to the United States, the MENA region accounts for less than 5% of U.S. total trade and 1% of U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows. U.S. businesses face a number of non-tariff barriers, such as lack of transparency, bureaucratic red tape, corruption, weak rule of law, and differences in business cultures. Policy Approaches and Challenges - Current U.S. trade and investment policies with MENA countries are quite varied. The United States has free trade agreements (FTAs) with five MENA countries (Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman), but more limited ties with other countries, such as Libya, which is not a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Important exceptions to overall U.S. trade policy objectives in the region are Iran and Syria, which are both subject to trade sanctions. Analysts disagree about the merits of deepening U.S. trade and investment ties with the MENA region. Some analysts maintain that new trade and investment agreements help anchor domestic reforms, such as in governance and rule of law; support sound economic growth; are a costeffective way to support transitioning countries in an environment of budgetary constraints; and could promote U.S. exports and investment. Others argue that the empirical record between economic openness and democracy is weak and that it is unclear whether protesters in various Arab countries favor more economic liberalization, which they sometimes associate with corruption, inflation, and inequality. They also argue that political uncertainty in the region, such as the fluidity of Egypt's political transition, merits a “wait-and-see” approach before proceeding with substantial policy changes.