As we marked World Poverty Day on October 17th, a blog published recently by World Bank staff highlights that poverty has finally receded to pre-COVID pandemic levels, which in essence means we…

Nadir Mohammed, Laura Moreno Herrera, Salman Zaidi |

Across the MENA region, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) play a major role in countries’ economies and in the delivery of essential services to the public. As a result of a comprehensive desk review…

Nazaneen Ismail Ali, Jocelyne Jabbour, Simeon Sahaydachny |

Most workers in developing countries are in informal employment-- that is, a job that does not come with social security benefits and leaving them with limited means to manage risks to their…

Nadir Mohammed, Roberta Gatti, Marco Ranzani, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, Nistha Sinha, Adam Elsheikhi |

As we keep hearing the term “inflation” in the news every day, it’s worth revisiting what that really means for MENA countries. Here are four policies that tackle high inflation and low growth…

Nadir Mohammed, Kevin Carey, Johannes Hoogeveen, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo |

One objective of fiscal policy is to stabilize a country’s macroeconomic environment. Countercyclical fiscal measures intend to offset the effects of the economic cycle on a country’s economy. For…

Jose Luis Diaz Sanchez, Joana Monteiro da Mota |

In 2017, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi) program, a global initiative aimed to support women’s entrepreneurship was launched with a simple target. It seemed rather simple at…

Benjamin Herzberg, Oubah A. Malow |

The challenges of digital inclusion faced in MENA region are intertwined with social issues like poverty, conflict, gender inequality, forced migration and lack of access to basic services.…

Bertha Mwakapenda, Hamdi Karakal, Jemilehin Funmilayo, Narissa Jeffrey |

Public sectors in MENA have struggled to reform for decades. Public sector employees account for 25% of total employment across the region and public sector salaries represent 32% of total…

Izzah Akram Malik, Jens Kromann Kristensen |

COVID-19 is revealing inequities between and within countries. As it is likely to become endemic, we have to learn to do better and to invest in the evidence needed for learning.

Johannes Hoogeveen, Bilal Malaeb, Lokendra Phadera |

Today, on the occasion of the World Youth Skills Day , we are pleased to announce the winners of the Blog4Dev 2021 competition.

Hafez Ghanem, Ousmane Diagana |