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Middle East and North Africa

The Decline in Oil Prices: An Opportunity

Ivailo Izvorski's picture


How Well did We Forecast 2014?

Shanta Devarajan's picture



Here’s the scorecard on the seven predictions made:

All About My Age

Wolfgang Fengler's picture

And Why I’m Much Older than I Thought I was


Can Pay for Performance Provide the Wrong Incentives?

Tito Cordella's picture


Lessons from Reducing Energy Subsidies

Mamta Murthi's picture
Also available in: Română

A view from Central Europe and the Baltics


Budget Rules for Resource Booms - and Busts

Shanta Devarajan's picture


There is No Middle Income Trap

Ha Minh Nguyen's picture



الوظائف أو الامتيازات

Marc Schiffbauer's picture
Also available in: English

إطلاق العنان لخلق فرص العمل في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا

ثمة خيار أمام غالبية من هم في سن العمل في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا: إما الانضمام إلى صفوف البطالة أو العمل في أنشطة ضعيفة الإنتاجية وتكفي بالكاد احتياجاتهم، وغالباً ما تكون في الاقتصاد غير الرسمي (الموازي). وبوجه خاص، فإن نسبة العاملين في القطاع الرسمي في المنطقة ممن هم في سن العمل لا تتجاوز 19 في المائة.
ويتمثل السبب الرئيسي لذلك في أن القطاع الخاص لا يهيئ فرص عمل كافية. وتبلغ نسبة فرص العمل في الشركات متناهية الصغر التي تعمل في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا ما بين 42 إلى 72 في المائة من إجمالي الوظائف، غير أن هذه الشركات لا تنمو. ففي تونس، نجد أن احتمال نمو شركة ما متناهية الصغر بما يتجاوز 10 موظفين بعد 5 سنوات من تأسيسها تبلغ 3 في المائة.

Life in the Slow Lane - The Nairobi Grind

Apurva Sanghi's picture

I’ve lived in cities famed for their gridlock: 1990s Bangkok (gridlock was as bad as it could be); Los Angeles (gridlock + pollution); New Delhi (gridlock + pollution + honking galore); Nairobi’s gridlock is surely up there.

But is traffic “bad”? What sort of question is that you ask? Surely, the answer is 'yes', you say: time wasted stuck in traffic, the frustration, the needless idling of vehicles which creates both local (and global) pollution and so on. But let me suggest this: traffic congestion is also a sign of development. In fact, the more vibrant and dynamic the city as Nairobi surely is, the more traffic congestion you might expect...to paraphrase Gordon Gekko from the movie Wall Street, “Traffic is…good”!

Jobs or Privileges?

Marc Schiffbauer's picture
Also available in: العربية

Unleashing the Employment Potential of the Middle East and North Africa

The majority of working-age people in MENA face a choice: they can be unemployed; or they can work in low-productivity, subsistence activities often in the informal economy. In particular, only 19% of the working age people in MENA have formal jobs.

The main reason is that the private sector does not create enough jobs. Between 42% and 72% of all jobs are in micro firms in MENA, but these micro firms do not grow. In Tunisia, the probability that a micro firm grows beyond 10 employees five years later is 3%.

Why has private sector job creation been so weak?