This report provides the first comprehensive analysis of the state of early childhood development in the Middle East and North Africa. The report shows that deficits before, during, and after birth tend to be irreversible and perpetuate cycles of poverty and inequality.
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.