## Shifting Sands

_IMF Blog, November 30, 2017_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Shifting Sands](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/30/shifting-sands)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/30/shifting-sands/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/30/shifting-sands/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/30/shifting-sands/bundle-manifest.json)

## Bibliographic details
- Authors: The Editors
- Published: November 30, 2017

---

### Overview and context
- 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.

### Political and institutional analysis
- 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.

### Human and economic costs of conflict
- 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.

### Sources of potential growth and inclusion
- 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."

### Policy action and international engagement
- 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.

### Multimedia and human perspective
- 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.

### Institutional note about the blog
- 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.*

---


## References

- [F&D](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2017/12/index.htm)
- [path to stability and prosperity](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2017/12/point.htm)
- [more jobs and better opportunities to secure future stability](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2017/12/azour.htm)
- [Conflicts in the region](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2017/12/imus.htm)
- [green energy](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2017/12/arezki.htm)
- [tech funds](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2017/12/macdiarmid.htm)
- [Personal stories](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2017/12/fathi.htm)
- [high-level conference](http://www.imf.org/en/News/Seminars/Conferences/2017/08/08/morocco-opportunities-for-all)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/11/30/shifting-sands_