The World Bank economic report to the Ad Hoc Liaison committee (AHLC), a forum of donors to the Palestinian Authority, examines current economic trends and recommends measures and reforms to stop further deterioration.
This assessment aims to more precisely understand the sources and reasons for non-payment of electricity in the Palestinian Territories and to develop an action plan based on current programs and activities led by the Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority and the donor community.
The 2006 Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) found that shrinking market access and a lack of free movement of people and goods were the main constraints to growth for Palestinian enterprises. This ICA empirically confirms that while the positive factors identified in the 2006 investment climate assessment remain largely true today, political instability remains the key obstacle to economic growth.
The Palestinian economy has experienced strong growth in recent years. This report examines the economic benefits of lifting the restrictions on movement and access, as well as other administrative obstacles, to Palestinian investment and economic activity in a region known as Area C.
Only a third of children (34%) are in Early Childhood Care and Education, and only 47% engage in childhood development activities. The rate of violent discipline of children is high at 96%.
The MENA Economic Monitor supplements the World Bank’s Bi-annual MENA Quarterly Economic Brief and presents the short term, macroeconomic outlook and economic challenges facing the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region.
This report examines the role of trust, incentives, and engagement as critical determinants of service delivery performance in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Focusing on education and health, the report illustrates how the weak external and internal accountability relationships prevalent in the MENA political and administrative spheres undermine incentives toward policy implementation and performance, and how such a cycle of poor performance can be counteracted.
This report argues that Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries face a critical choice in their quest for higher private sector growth and more jobs: promote competition, equal opportunities for all entrepreneurs and dismantle existing privileges to specific firms or risk perpetuating the current equilibrium of low job creation.
This report highlights the need to foster competitive behavior among service providers to bring down prices and stimulate the demand for value-added services to drive future broadband development.