IV. FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION: SORTING OUT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES — A DISCUSSION

Discussants

The Economics of Fiscal Decentralization:
Framework and Principles

Municipalities in Lebanon

Service Delivery Surveys in Lebanon

Macroeconomic Implications and
Some Institutional Aspects of Decentralization

Local Revenue Mobilization and Intergovernmental Transfers

Local Government in the West Bank and Gaza

Asymmetrical Decentralization in Spain

Decentralization From the "Top Down": The Japanese Case

Local Rural Development: The West Bank and Gaza

Decentralization in Jordan

V. FOSTERING PRODUCTIVITY AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS

Global Competition and the Changing Relations between the Public-Private Sectors in the MENA Region
Nemat Shafik, Director of Private Sector Development and Finance, World Bank

Building Competitive Advantage:
Lessons from Other Countries
Michael Porter, Professor at Harvard University,
School of Business, Cambridge, USA

Le Maroc Competitif:
A Cluster Development Initiative in Morocco
Saad Kettani, President of WAFACORP, Morocco

Productivity, Learning and Industrial Development
John Page, Chief Economist, MENA Country Operations, World Bank

Fostering Competitiveness
R. Shyam Khemani, Manager in the Private Sector
Development Department,World Bank

VI. LABOR MARKET POLICIES AND LABOR UNIONS

Unions in the Global Market
Michael Walton, Director in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department World Bank

Labor Unions, Democratic Change and Competitiveness
Fouad Benseddik, Union Morocaine du Travail, Morocco

Partnerships in the Education of Future Workers
Heba El-Shazli, African-American Labor Center, Egypt

VII. GLOBALIZATION:
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Global Changes and What They Mean for the Middle East and North Africa’s Development Strategies
Ishac Diwan, Manager in the World Bank Institute, World Bank

International Agreements and Policy Reform
Bernard Hoekman, Senior Trade Economist,
World Bank

Costs and Benefits of the European-Mediterranean Agreements
John Page, Chief Economist of Middle East and North Africa Country Operations, World Bank

The WTO and the European-Mediterranean Agreements: Complements or Substitutes?
Ahmed Galal, Director of Research, Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, Egypt

The Fiscal Dimension of the European-Mediterranean Challenge
Mustapha Nabli, Senior Economic Adviser, World Bank

The European Union Agreement and Tax Reform in Middle East and North Africa Countries
George Abed, Senior Adviser, International Monetary Fund

WTO, the European-Mediterranean Agreement and the Unified Arab Market: A European Perspective
Bernard Philippe, Principal Administrator at the European Commission, Belgium

VIII. FINANCIAL MARKETS AND GROWTH IN
THE MEDITERRANEAN: THE NEXT STEPS

Long-Term Finance
Gerard Caprio, Research Manage, World Bank

Managing Capital Flows in the MENA Region:
Observations from the Front Line
Nasser Saidi, First Vice Governor, Banque du Liban, Lebanon

Sustainable Banking with the Poor
Lynn Bennett, Sector Manager of Social Development, World Bank
Carlos E. Cuevas, Senior Financial Specialist, World Bank

IX. MODERNIZING TELECOMMUNICATIONS THROUGH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Telecommunications and Informatics
Carlos Braga, Manager, Information for Development Program, World Bank

Private Sector Involvement in Telecommunications
Ahmed Galal, Director of Research, Egyptian Center
for Economic Studies, Egypt

Factors of Successful Reform in the Telecommunications Sector
Bjšrn Wellenius, Telecommunications Adviser,
World Bank

Telecommunications in Jordan
Mohammad Mustapha, Senior Financial Analyst,
World Bank

X. MASTER LECTURES

An Agenda for Development for the Twenty-First Century
Joe Stiglitz, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of Development Economics, World Bank

The Role of Social Funds for Development
Hussein El Gammal, Managing Director of the Social Fund for Development, Egypt

Water Security Policies and Global Systems for
Water-Scarce Regions
J. Anthony Allen, Professor at the University of London

Rethinking Education For The Information Age
George Johnson, Former President of George Mason University, Virginia, USA