Editor's Letter: The Arab World’s Economic Destiny
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: GITA BHATT
- Published: September 1, 2023
Overview
- This issue of Finance & Development explores how the Arab world can tap growth opportunities and rebuild its economic standing.
- Publication details: F&D Magazine — The Arab World’s Economic Destiny; GITA BHATT; September 2023.
- Context: With economic leaders gathering soon in Marrakech, Morocco, for the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, the issue focuses on pathways for durable and equitable growth across the Middle East and North Africa.
Key challenges identified
- Historical context: For centuries, Arab nations led the world in the pursuit of knowledge and in scientific innovation and were among the most economically advanced places on Earth. Today, the Middle East and North Africa—nations with diverse political and economic landscapes—are at a crossroads.
- Political instability and conflict: Several countries are mired in political instability and conflict.
- High debt: Debt levels in some countries are described as alarmingly high.
- Youth employment and demographics:
- Youth unemployment in the region is among the highest in the world.
- More than 100 million hopeful young people will join the workforce over the next 10 years, all anxious to be included.
- Gender inclusion: Progress will be limited if women do not have opportunities to succeed.
- Political dimension: The economic challenge is characterized as not merely technical but “profoundly political.”
Recommended policy directions and reforms
- Reorienting growth engines:
- “It’s time to rethink the engines of economic growth,” say the IMF’s Jihad Azour and Taline Koranchelian.
- State-dominated activity will be hard to sustain.
- Some economies must secure durable and equitable growth while brightening youth job prospects and taking full advantage of the human capital women offer.
- Public sector and institutional reforms:
- True transformation requires a more transparent and accountable public sector, modernized economic institutions, greater private enterprise, and more responsiveness to the global energy transition.
- Each country must build support for and “own” their reform program, says Jordan’s finance minister Mohamad Al-Ississ.
- Social and political reforms:
- Advocates call for removing barriers to equality, challenging social norms, and confronting entrenched interests to enable inclusive progress.
- Financial and trade modernization:
- Modernizing banking and trade can play an important role by lifting business and investment barriers, within the region and globally (Nasser Saidi and Aathira Prasad).
- The Gulf states, with existing global links, increasingly diversified economies, and investment in trade infrastructure, can lead the way for the region.
- Digital finance and fintech:
- Digital finance has great potential to drive financial inclusion and economic growth (Amjad Ahmad).
- Policy reforms should create a competitive banking sector and attract venture capital for fintech start-ups.
Regional and global dynamics
- Geopolitical shifts:
- Changing US engagement, China’s growing influence, and other regional political alignments represent a generational shift in geopolitics (Vali Nasr).
- These shifts are expected to unlock new possibilities for the region.
- Climate financing and inclusion:
- Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt’s minister of international cooperation, calls for equitable access to climate financing.
Featured perspectives and profiles in the issue
- Contributions and voices:
- IMF analysts: Jihad Azour and Taline Koranchelian on rethinking growth.
- Jordan’s finance minister Mohamad Al-Ississ on ownership of reforms.
- Nasser Saidi and Aathira Prasad on banking and trade modernization.
- Amjad Ahmad (Atlantic Council) on digital finance and fintech policy.
- Vali Nasr (Johns Hopkins SAIS) on geopolitical shifts.
- Rania Al-Mashat on climate financing equity.
- Human stories and leadership:
- Features include three women entrepreneurs driving positive change in the region.
- A profile of Minouche Shafik, a leading economist whose career spans public policy and academia.
Editorial and design notes
- The F&D team introduced a redesign with this print issue to enhance reader experience through clearer visual delineation of sections, aiming to create a stronger and more recognizable brand for F&D.
Source: F&D Magazine — The Arab World’s Economic Destiny, GITA BHATT, September 2023.
Content in this bundle
- The Arab World’s Economic Destiny
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