Shifting Sands

IMF Blog, November 30, 2017

Source details

Publication: F&D issue focusing on the Middle East and North Africa.
Author/Editor: The Editors.
Date: November 30, 2017.
Core theme: Taking stock of the region’s rapid transformation since the uprisings of 2011 and emphasizing the need for policies to foster inclusive growth and a new social contract between governments and society.

Marwan Muasher (Carnegie Endowment for Peace):
- The uprisings lifted the "iron lid" that had kept Arab societies artificially stable.
- Stability and prosperity now depend on building better institutions, sharing power, and implementing policies that foster inclusive growth.
- A new social contract between governments and society is required.
Jihad Azour (IMF’s Director for the Middle East and Central Asia):
- Political demands drove the uprisings, but unresolved socioeconomic issues were the underlying cause.
- Seven years later, these socioeconomic problems remain largely unaddressed.
- With 60 percent of the region’s population under the age of 30, countries need more jobs and better opportunities to secure future stability.

IMF economists Phil de Imus, Gaëlle Pierre, and Björn Rother:
- Conflicts since 2011 have claimed an estimated half million lives and displaced masses, causing human and economic ruin.
- Example: In Syria, GDP today is estimated to be less than half its 2010 level.

Technology and green energy:
- Technology, including green energy, offers the promise of meaningful jobs for young people.
- Solar power and other renewable energies provide opportunities to offset the risk of stranded oil and gas assets (Rabah Arezki, World Bank).
Entrepreneurship and tech funds:
- Governments across the region are launching tech funds; some start-ups are developing into large employers.
Women’s economic contribution:
- Women represent another source of growth; their power to boost GDP is "just beginning to be understood."
- Personal stories (Nazila Fathi) highlight challenges many women face when seeking jobs outside the home.
Narrative emphasis:
- The region’s untapped potential: youth, women, and entrepreneurial spirit.
- The price of inaction is characterized as "simply too high."

IMF role:
- To focus attention on the need for new policies, the IMF is co-hosting a high-level conference in Marrakesh, Morocco on January 29-30.
- Co-hosts: Arab Monetary Fund, Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development, and the government of Morocco.
- Conference aim: Move from endorsing the concept of inclusive growth in the Arab world to enacting policies that will make it happen.

Video feature:
- Follows Hamza Rashih, a young man in Casablanca trying to set up his own pastry shop, illustrating the reshaping of individual lives as central to reshaping the region’s future.

IMFBlog: Forum for views of IMF staff and officials on pressing economic and policy issues.
IMF: Organization of 191 countries, based in Washington D.C., working to foster global monetary cooperation and financial stability.
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF and its Executive Board.

Source: Shifting Sands, IMFBlog, November 30, 2017.