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. The report shows that policies which lower competition in MENA also constrain private sector development and job creation.
The report is organized in four chapters as follows (PDF):
Chapter one analyzes the dynamics and determinants of job creation and tests whether the fundamentals of job creation in MENA are similar to those in fast growing developing and high income countries.
Chapter two shows how different policies in MENA countries shaped private sector competition and thus the firm dynamics associated with job growth identified in chapter one.
Chapter three documents past industrial policies in MENA and compare the experiences in MENA with the experiences of East Asian countries, highlighting how the differences are linked to policy objective, design, and implementation.
Chapter four analyzes how privileges to politically connected firms result in policy distortions that undermine competition and constrain private sector growth and jobs in MENA.
The report concludes by laying out the implications for policy of the various findings and lays out the specific areas for policy reform to the roadmap for more private sector growth and jobs in MENA.
Briefs (PDF)
- Unleashing the employment potential of the Middle East and North Africa
- Startups and Innovative Firms Wanted : Private Sector Growth and Job Creation
- Distorted Dynamics: The Impact of Policies on Firm Dynamics and Job Creation
- Avoiding Pitfalls of Industrial Policy: Building Open and Effective Institutions for Private Sector Development and Jobs
- Privileges instead of Jobs: Politically connected firms receive generous policy privileges undermining completion and job creation
