Replace discretion with rules to boost economic performance
A government that adopts institutional reform to increase policy credibility and enhance the degree of competition may be rewarded with ...
Low social and political returns to education in the Arab world
Arab societies urgently need to start looking at how to improve education systems, not just in ways to improve the ...
Better measures of the health of Egypt’s labour market
Policy discussions about the health of Egypt’s labour market focus almost exclusively on one indicator: the unemployment rate. This column ...
Unemployment and the marginally attached
While the standard definition of unemployment is useful for international comparisons, it may not be adequate for assessing the degree ...
Brain gain from return migration: evidence from Egypt
Far from causing ‘brain drain’ in the developing world, temporary migration can lead to a ‘brain gain’ for the sending ...
A new exchange rate regime for oil-exporting countries
Currency pegs in the Gulf economies have forced monetary policy to be pro-cyclical, exacerbating the effects of swings in the ...
Microcredit: choosing between inclusion and impact?
The microfinance industry continues to grow rapidly in the MENA region. This column reports research from across the world showing ...
Fiscal rules: how to reduce pro-cyclical public spending
Fiscal pro-cyclicality is a defining trait of many MENA countries and other emerging economies: public spending typically rises in good ...