Are there significant differences between the perceptions and labor market experiences of male and female entrepreneurs and workers in Lebanon? Are such differences important to the optimal deployment of females in the workforce? This report approaches these issues empirically through two...

Arab countries, more so than countries in any other region, are extremely vulnerable to food-price shocks. Furthermore, current projections indicate that they will be unable to meet demand with production, which will steadily increase their vulnerability to food-price shocks. There is therefore,...

Financial Management (FM) is a key component in the development process, ensuring accountability and efficiency in the management of public resources and promoting private investment and growth. Middle and North Africa (MNA) FM's focus is on engaging with MNA countries' systems and working...

Impressive results still leave Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with an education gap as compared to the rest of the world. With some exceptions, MENA countries have almost reached full primary education enrollment and increased enrollment in secondary schools almost threefold since 1970, and...

Global and economic aspects of the crisis: two aspects of the current crisis are important to stress. The first is its global nature. As you know, this crisis started last year in the US and European financial markets but spread quickly to developing countries. The second is its economic impact....

This note is based on report entitled Looking Ahead after a Year in Transition that was issued by the Chief Economist s office of the Middle East and North Africa region of the World Bank. Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen are given special attention because each of them experienced a revolution...

The 2012 Doing Business (DB) Report lauds Morocco as the country that has achieved the biggest improvement in its ranking in 2011. The acknowledgment of the country's performance reflects a spectacular 21 place jump in its overall rank to 94, underpinning improvements and advances in four out of...

How can recent Bank-led research on development, security and conflict inform policy choices in Middle East and North Africa (MENA)? The Arab spring has presented a level of protest and political transition in the region not seen since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the end of the...

In today's world, when open discussions on an issue of national development interest, almost always come across a dimension that relates to managing integration. Development in one country, so to speak, is not easy. Put positively, joining forces together to deal with issues of inter-dependence...

To Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a fascinating landscape. It is regrettable that the region is often in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. It's perceived as a place of endless conflict, where people live in fear and private investors shy away, some say the region is a closed...