This paper empirically examines the multiple impacts of alternative, major fiscal instruments on decarbonization in countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It also examines the effects of decarbonization pathways on decarbonization, using a database covering 41 countries, including...

The Middle East and North Africa faces significant climate challenges, such as increasing temperatures, heightened flood risks, frequent droughts, and growing air pollution issues. These challenges are compounded by the large proportion of the population living below the poverty line in some...

This policy brief uses data from those efforts to document the role social norms play to support (or hinder) female labor force participation in a sample of MENA countries. Data was collected in Egypt, the Republic of Iraq, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia between...

Using panel data spanning 2004-2023 of 21 countries in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, we measure systemic risk and assess its influence on key banking sector performance indicators, including financial stability (proxied by commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults), providing...

This research explores the impact of ownership structure on the financial performance of Leveraged Buyout (LBO) transactions in the MENA region, a key emerging market region. Drawing on agency theory by Jensen & Meckling and the capital structure theory of Modigliani and Miller, the study...

Achieving a more inclusive financial system is crucial to unlocking economic opportunities, reducing inequality, and ensuring that no person will be excluded from access and usage of financial and banking services. Even if financial services are widely available in some areas, others, especially...

The link between financial inclusion and financial stability is a central concern in public economic policymaking, particularly in emerging countries where access to financial services remains limited. While financial inclusion is widely regarded as a key driver of economic development, its...

This edition of the Macro Poverty Outlooks periodical contains country-by-country forecasts and overviews for GDP, fiscal, debt and poverty indicators for the developing countries of Middle East and North Africa. Macroeconomic indicators such as population, gross domestic product and gross...

This paper examines the long-term impacts of early-life drought exposure on the human capital and socioeconomic outcomes of women born in the Arab Republic of Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco across more than five decades. Using a pooled cross-section of 13 rounds of the Demographic and Health...

This paper examines the impact of negative precipitation shocks (droughts) on labor markets in the Middle East and North Africa region. Using Labor Force Survey data across five countries over approximately 25 years and matched with fifth generation of atmospheric reanalysis produced by the...

The outbreak of COVID-19 not only had serious negative impacts on the world economy but also on the global mental health because of the psychological disorders associated with the spread of the pandemic, the increased degree of uncertainty and the unprecedented measures taken by different...

Purpose - This paper aims to discuss the main characteristics of the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region's capital inflows volatility. It also examines the effect of institutional quality and information availability on capital inflows volatility in selected MENA countries (Bahrain, Egypt,...

Selon les estimations, la région du Moyen-Orient et de l'Afrique du Nord (MENA) a connu une croissance modeste de 1,9 % en 2024 et devrait croître modérément à 2,6 % en 2025. Cela s'inscrit dans un contexte d'incertitude mondiale accrue, en particulier en matière de politique commerciale....

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has faced challenges like political instability and economic fluctuations, which have impacted non-performing loans (NPL) levels. At the same time, over the years, reforms and regulations have encouraged stronger board structures to enhance...

This paper examines the impacts of observed versus uncertain (stochastic) institutional quality of corporate debt financing. This paper compares the impacts of two distinct levels of institutional quality in developed and developing economies. World governance indicators (WGIs) are used as...

This study investigates the impact of financial technology (Fintech) on bank stability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Utilizing panel data from 94 banks in 10 countries over a 13-year period from 2011 to 2023, this research employs panel GMM regression to examine the relationship...

In natural resource-dependent economies, global resource price volatility makes financial systems more vulnerable to economic shocks. The relationship between natural resource rent and bank stability lies in how fluctuations in resource revenues can affect financial institutions' stability. The...

Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, including wind and solar power, is a validated approach for mitigating carbon emissions. To maximize renewable energy potential and account for costs and impacts of low carbon energy transitions, research models or modelling tools must...

In response to the scarce evidence regarding herd behaviour in emerging and frontier debt markets, this paper investigates the potential mispricing of MENA sovereign risk. We explore whether this mispricing results from international investor herding, where MENA debt assets are collectively...

This paper examines the spillover effects of policy uncertainty in Lebanon on stock market volatility in seven MENA countries using a network connectedness approach. For this purpose, it constructs an economic policy uncertainty index for Lebanon using data extracted from Twitter (now X) for the...

This report's focus on fiscal matters complements ongoing work on megatrends involving labor markets, skills, demographics and climate (KP-1) and institutional matters (KP-2). The present KP-3 is not meant to be exhaustive in discussing the full range of financing and spending details in the...

Low investments in human development (HD) are both a cause and a consequence of economic performance and income growth. Thriving populations in knowledge societies are skilled, mobile, healthy, and connected. However, in most countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, human...

This paper explores how the three megatrends will affect the people of MENA and how, through emerging Human Development (HD) policies, the region can shape these trends and harness new opportunities while managing the risks. It first delves into the impacts of aging, climate change, and...

This study investigates the influences of financial performance and economic determinants (inflation rate and economic growth) on financial distress (FD) in the MENA region in the context of the contagion effect theory and Minsky's financial instability theory. This paper examines the...

This study takes a critical look at Franco-German relations in the field of international cooperation along the entire humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) spectrum to better gauge the usefulness of bilateral collaborative action in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Both the corresponding...

Growing geopolitical risks (GPR) and tensions affecting economic performance can significantly influence sustainable development outcomes. However, previous studies do not address whether GPR hinders sustainable development, assessed through a unique sustainable development metric, the load...

The rapid accumulation of public debt raises global concern over its implications for financial markets. This study examines the effect of domestic public debt on financial development in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, a region marked by sharp heterogeneity in institutions, debt...

This study investigates factors shaping FDI inflows in the MENA region from 1996 to 2021, employing static and dynamic panel data models. A composite institutional quality index, created via Principal Component Analysis, reveals a positive long-term effect on FDI. However, voice and...

Over the past decade, the debate on the microeconomic effects of financial inclusion has intensified, with a growing body of research exploring how access to financial services impacts banks' behaviors. Studying the effect of financial inclusion on bank risk is crucial because it helps...

Several studies on economic transition propose that structural change in developing countries, that involves reallocating from less productive to more productive sectors, might enhance participation in global value chains (GVCs). However, there is a lack of empirical work on this claim. This...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of financial inclusion on corporate investment. More specifically, this paper investigates the possibility of a nonlinear relationship between financial inclusion and corporate investment, as well as the moderating effect of audit quality in...

This study investigates the relationship between higher education and mortality rates from chronic and fatal diseases in MENA countries from 2000 to 2020. Utilizing a robust panel econometric framework with Generalized Least Square, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), and Dynamic...

Background Given the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to examine the economic response policies implemented by governments. This study aims to review evidence from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including Iran, on COVID-19 economic response policies...