The Joint Social and Economic Assessment (JSEA) has been prepared in response to a request from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC) in Yemen, and was undertaken jointly by the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Islamic Development Bank. The...

The World Bank's 2010 study, Arab Development Assistance: four decades of cooperation, and the subsequent note, Arab donors respond favorably to the global financial crisis (Rouis 2011), showed that the three Gulf countries - Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have provided...

While many governments in the Arab world have undertaken some privatizations since the early 1990s, many retain surprisingly large portfolios of fully, majority, or minority state-owned enterprises (SOEs). As in other parts of the world, privatization often causes concerns among citizens....

Innovation is often touted as a key component in unleashing private sector growth and the dynamism necessary for solving the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's employment challenges. The region's innovation strategy identifies the major development challenges including youth...

This quick note is based on the report of the same name which was prepared just prior to the Arab Spring. The study anticipates the demands for social and economic inclusion articulated by Moroccan young people, especially February 2011. Since then, these demands have been amplified and reached...

The political and social upheavals that followed the Arab Spring of 2011 continue to dominate economic activity and near term prospects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Although political transitions bring promises of greater political and economic freedom, in MENA the process remains...

There is a momentum in Egypt for a critical assessment of pressing development challenges in the aftermath of dramatic political shifts in the country. This change is fueling demand for new, more open and innovative approaches, offering an opportunity for policy-makers to develop information and...

For thousands of years, the people of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have coped with the challenges of climate variability by adapting their survival strategies to changes in rainfall and temperature. Temperatures are expected to increase, and in most places less rainfall.is expected. Water...

The process of political change and transition across much of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) continued into 2013, with a great degree of heterogeneity across countries. Violence in Syria has escalated, with spillover effects to Lebanon and Jordan. Security in Yemen is fragile but a...

Yemen's political and security crises have exacted a terrible toll on its people in terms of human losses, poverty, malnutrition, and economic decline. Emerging from conflict and violence and moving towards economic recovery, growth, poverty alleviation, and job creation are critically dependent...