Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa Region

Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa Region PDF Author: Johannes G. Hoogeveen
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464817774
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
COVID-19 is one of multiple crises to have hit the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the decade following the Arab Spring. War, oil price declines, economic slowdowns, and now a pandemic are tearing at the social fabric of a region characterized by high rates of unemployment, high levels of informality, and low annual economic growth. The economic costs of the pandemic are estimated at about US$227 billion, and fiscal support packages across MENA are averaging 2.7 percent of GDP, putting pressure on already weak fiscal balances and making a quick recovery challenging. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, MENA was the only region in the world experiencing increases in poverty and declines in life satisfaction. Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa Region investigates how COVID-19 changed the welfare of individuals and households in the region. It does so by relying on phone surveys implemented across the region and complements these with microsimulation exercises to assess the impact of COVID-19 on jobs, income, poverty, and inequality. The two approaches complement and corroborate each other's results, thereby making the findings more robust and richer. This report's results show that, in the short run, poverty rates in MENA will increase significantly and inequality will widen. A group of 'new poor' is likely to emerge that may have difficulty recovering from the economic consequences of COVID-19. The report adds value by analyzing newly gathered primary data, along with projections based on newly modeled micro- and macrosimulations, and by identifying key issues that policy makers should focus on to enable a quick, inclusive, and sustained economic recovery.

Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa Region

Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa Region PDF Author: Johannes G. Hoogeveen
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464817774
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
COVID-19 is one of multiple crises to have hit the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the decade following the Arab Spring. War, oil price declines, economic slowdowns, and now a pandemic are tearing at the social fabric of a region characterized by high rates of unemployment, high levels of informality, and low annual economic growth. The economic costs of the pandemic are estimated at about US$227 billion, and fiscal support packages across MENA are averaging 2.7 percent of GDP, putting pressure on already weak fiscal balances and making a quick recovery challenging. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, MENA was the only region in the world experiencing increases in poverty and declines in life satisfaction. Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa Region investigates how COVID-19 changed the welfare of individuals and households in the region. It does so by relying on phone surveys implemented across the region and complements these with microsimulation exercises to assess the impact of COVID-19 on jobs, income, poverty, and inequality. The two approaches complement and corroborate each other's results, thereby making the findings more robust and richer. This report's results show that, in the short run, poverty rates in MENA will increase significantly and inequality will widen. A group of 'new poor' is likely to emerge that may have difficulty recovering from the economic consequences of COVID-19. The report adds value by analyzing newly gathered primary data, along with projections based on newly modeled micro- and macrosimulations, and by identifying key issues that policy makers should focus on to enable a quick, inclusive, and sustained economic recovery.

The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa

The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa PDF Author: Anis Ben Brik
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000653692
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
This book critically reflects on the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by exploring the impact and possible future outcomes in a region already struggling with the effects of a decade of uprisings, failed or difficult political transitions, state collapses, civil war and international conflict. International scholars offer a comprehensive treatment of today's major societal issues and provide a unique, broadly comparative view on public policy responses in the MENA region. Addressing the implications and public policy responses to the crisis, they bring a critical perspective to the emerging challenges of evidence-based policy making; the locus of authority in transnational issues; the nature of governance; and the role of government and implications for civil society. Tackling the psychology, sociology, education, law, and public policy issues related to the social and economic implications of the COVID 19 pandemic, this book will be of interest to scholars and students alike.

The MENA Region and COVID-19

The MENA Region and COVID-19 PDF Author: Zeina Hobaika
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781032145860
Category : COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"The region commonly referred to as Middle East and North Africa (MENA), comprising some of the world's richest countries next to some of the world's poorest, offers excellent insights into the discriminatory consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. While in its early stage, the coronavirus was said to not discriminate between rich and poor concerning its infectiousness, its consequences differ markedly: financially sound societies can afford economic shutdowns, yet citizens in less affluent countries lack the opportunity of not going to work - if they even have the "luxury" of seeing a doctor. Similarly, keeping kids out of school for months can be compensated for (at least partly) through excellent learning conditions at home, but children from families with less resources usually lack the equipment necessary. The multidisciplinary case studies collected in this edited volume reveal that the coronavirus's impact patterns are to a large extent a question of two variables: governance performance and socioeconomic potency. Therefore, while its geographic focus is on the MENA region, the book's analyses go far beyond and have implications for the comparative study of the COVID-19 pandemic and its broad impact on societies around the globe"--

COVID-19 and Risk Society across the MENA Region

COVID-19 and Risk Society across the MENA Region PDF Author:
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0755643909
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – at the interlocking levels of politics, economy, and society – have been different across regions, states, and societies. In the case of the Middle East and North Africa, which was already in the throes of intense tumult following the onset of the 2011 Arab Spring, COVID's blows have on the one hand followed the trajectory of some global patterns, while at the same time playing out in regionally specific ways. Based on empirical country-level analysis, this volume brings together an international team of contributors seeking to untangle how COVID-19 unfolds across the MENA. The analyses are framed through a contextual adaptation of Ulrich Beck's famous concept of “risk society” that pinpointed the negative consequences of modernity and its unbridled capitalism. The book traces how this has come home in full force in the COVID-19 pandemic. The editors, Larbi Sadiki and Layla Saleh, use the term "Arab risk society". They highlight short-term and long-term repercussions across the MENA. These include socio-economic inequality, a revitalized state of authoritarianism challenged by relentless democratic struggles. But the analyses are attuned to problem-solving research. The "ethnographies of the pandemic" included in this book investigate transformations and coping mechanisms within each country case study. They provide an ethically-informed research praxis that can respond to the manifold crises crashing down upon MENA polities and societies

Early Lessons from Social Protection and Jobs Response to COVID-19 in Middle East and North Africa Countries

Early Lessons from Social Protection and Jobs Response to COVID-19 in Middle East and North Africa Countries PDF Author: Alex Kamurase
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Countries in the Middle E ...

Overconfident

Overconfident PDF Author: Roberta Gatti
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 55

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Book Description
Overconfident: How Economic and Health Fault Lines Left the Middle East and North Africa Ill-Prepared to Face COVID This report examines the region's economic prospects in 2021, forecasting that the recovery will be both tenuous and uneven as per capita GDP level stays below pre-pandemic levels. COVID-19 was a stress-test for the region's public health systems, which were already overwhelmed even before the pandemic. Indeed, a decade of lackluster economic reforms left a legacy of large public sectors and high public debt that effectively crowded out investments in social services such as public health. This edition points out that the region's health systems were not only ill-prepared for the pandemic, but suffered from over-confidence, as authorities painted an overly optimistic picture in self-assessments of health system preparedness. Going forward, governments must improve data transparency for public health and undertake reforms to remedy historical underinvestment in public health systems.

COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa: Reactions, Vulnerabilities, Prospects

COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa: Reactions, Vulnerabilities, Prospects PDF Author: Eckart Woertz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


COVID-19 Learning Losses

COVID-19 Learning Losses PDF Author: UNESCO
Publisher: UNESCO Publishing
ISBN: 9231004948
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description
Since the beginning of the pandemic, efforts have been made to monitor both school closures (and re-opening) and the measures put in place to ensure continuity of learning. These include the Survey of Ministries of Education on National Responses to COVID-19, jointly supported by UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank. However, to date, no systematic evidence has been available on how students' learning is being affected by the disruptions caused by the pandemic or on the impact of education response measures initiated by governments. This report contributes to filling this evidence gap and includes a series of simulations of potential learning losses due to COVID-19 and exploration of their longer-term implications. The analysis is based on the Enabling learning for all framework, which outlines access, engagement and enabling environment as the three crucial enablers for learning, while the simulation assumptions are informed by the evidence on school closures and governments' education-related responses, collected through the joint survey.

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 PDF Author: Mr. Ernesto Ramirez Rigo
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1513594087
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
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.

Readiness of the Health System Against COVID-19 and Its Impact on Economy and Foreign Trade in MENA.

Readiness of the Health System Against COVID-19 and Its Impact on Economy and Foreign Trade in MENA. PDF Author: Özlem Özsoy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Objectives: This study aims to investigate the readiness and resilience of health system against COVID-19 and the impact of the pandemic on economy and foreign trade in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with Turkey.Methods: By descriptive analysis, the readiness and resilience of the health system and the impact of the pandemic on economy and foreign trade in the MENA region with Turkey were evaluated. The normality of the indicators by Jarque-Bera (JB), Shapiro-Wilk (SW) and Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) tests were tested. The countries were ranked by min-max standardization method.Results: As of the end of July 2021, the number of COVID-19 related cases was more than 12.4 million in MENA and 5.7 million in Turkey and deaths were more than 212 thousand in MENA and 51 thousand in Turkey. After the analysis in order, it is found that Israel, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Qatar as the most resilient countries and Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Libya as the most vulnerable countries against pandemic.Conclusion: The pandemic has affected the life and the economies in the region negatively and the health system for some of them was not sufficient to fight with it.Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Declaration of Interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethical Approval: Since the submitted manuscript do not include any studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue, any individual person's data in any form (including individual details, images or videos) no ethical approval and consent are needed for the study.