Iraq, once a relatively skilled and economically prosperous society, has seen its development thwarted by decades of conflict and economic decline. Today it is an upper middle-income, resource-rich, yet fragile and conflict-riven country. Progress on the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and...

This year will be the fifth consecutive year with global growth below its long-term trend of 3.5% observed during 2000-07, standing at last year’s 2.4%. This is 0.5% below January’s forecast. Many countries are plagued by recession, several others suffer from terrorist attacks and refugee...

The number of Small-to-Medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kuwait is high, particularly in retail and non-financial services, but their overall contribution to the economy is marginal—just 3% of GDP. This paradox is especially troubling when compared to high income and emerging economies, where SMEs...

Against the backdrop of a slowing global economy and lower commodity prices, economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is stagnating. The World Bank 2015 MENA economic monitor report projects overall gross domestic product (GDP) growth to be less than 3 percent for the third...

The Syrian war and the subsequent emergence and spread of the Islamic State (ISIS) have transformed the Levant in ways one could not have imagined prior to 2011. As the numbers of dead and of refugees and internally displaced kept climbing, and as families were torn apart and neighborhoods were...

While the Iraqi education system was widely regarded as one of the best in the Middle East and enjoyed near-universal primary enrollment until the 1980s, the next decade marked a serious downturn in results. The sector witnessed low primary and secondary enrollment and attendance, outdated...

Jordanian citizens are no exception - a household survey conducted in Jordan in 2011 found that roughly 20 percent of families had a member experience a legal problem in the previous five years. Legal problems, left unaddressed, can cause an economic or social shock that pushes vulnerable...

This Knowledge and Learning Note discusses regional collaboration on education in the Arab world. Regional collaboration on Education is arguably more challenging, comparatively speaking, in the Arab World than in other regions of the world. There are many reasons for this which this brief...

The Ombudsman Bureau in Jordan was established in 2008. It was created to provide an avenue for redress by citizens for complaints against public sector bodies - part of the Government s drive to improve the public sector. Such a body is important in providing checks and balances in a government...