Meeting the Employment Challenge in the GCC

Posted on January 19, 2012 by iMFdirect

The issue of how to create more jobs is high on the minds of policymakers everywhere. The economies of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—are no exception.

By many measures, these economies are doing very well. However, economic activity is dominated by the oil/gas sector and that sector creates relatively few jobs directly—less than 3 percent of the region’s labor force.

Diversification strategies are in place, and the non-oil sector has grown fairly rapidly over the past decade. But can it deliver enough jobs for GCC nationals?

Filed under: Employment, growth, International Monetary Fund, Middle East, عربي | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Lively Debate on the Dead Sea Shores

Posted on October 24, 2011 by iMFdirect

One of my biggest (and heartening) takeaways was that there were more young people bubbling with ideas and entrepreneurial spirit (ready to take risk) than ever before at this regional forum—which reflects a growing recognition of their current role in the Arab Spring and the role they will have to play in the future as drivers of economic change.

Filed under: Economic outlook, Emerging Markets, Employment, growth, Inequality, Middle East, Public debt, عربي | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments »

What the Arab Spring Has Taught Us

Posted on October 19, 2011 by iMFdirect

A clear lesson is that even rapid economic growth cannot be maintained unless it is inclusive, creates jobs for the growing labor force, and is accompanied by social policies for the most vulnerable. F from the Arab Spring is that economic reforms to be sustainable, their gains must be broadly shared, not just captured by a privileged few. Widespread corruption is not just an unacceptable affront to the dignity of citizens, it also deprives them of the economic benefits. And the absence of transparent and fair rules of the game will inevitably undermine inclusive growth.

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Employment, Financial Crisis, Fiscal Stimulus, growth, Inequality, Middle East, Public debt, عربي | Tagged: , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

2011—A Pivotal Year for Global Cooperation

Posted on January 4, 2011 by iMFdirect

John Lipsky, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, looks at the year ahead and says 2011 represents a pivotal time for global economic recovery and for international policy cooperation—as well as for the role of the Fund in addressing these two principal challenges.

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Africa, Asia, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Employment, Europe, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, Fiscal policy, Fiscal Stimulus, G-20, Global Governance, Globalization, growth, International Monetary Fund, Latin America, Low-income countries, Middle East, Public debt, recession, 中文, عربي | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Is There a Silver Lining to Sluggish Credit Growth in the Gulf Countries?

Posted on December 7, 2010 by iMFdirect

Sluggish credit growth in the post-crisis period was hardly a unique development, as indicated in our latest Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia region. But while there are clearer signs of recovery in some countries, credit to the private sector is still barely growing in the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council, notwithstanding policy efforts to revive it.

It might seem easy to ring the alarm bells. But there are a number of reasons why we are not as concerned about the slowdown in credit growth—among them that the adjustment reflects a much needed correction from very high—perhaps unsustainable—rates of credit growth witnessed during the boom years.

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Middle East, عربي | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

More than 18 Million Jobs Needed!

Posted on October 31, 2010 by iMFdirect

For the six oil-importing countries in the Middle East and North Africa region—Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia—high unemployment is a chronic problem. Averaging above 10 percent for the past two decades, unemployment rates here are among the highest in the world. And, youth unemployment is even more alarming at over 20 percent.

Given the enormous economic and social costs of unemployment, the region can no longer afford the status quo. These countries need to create about 18? million full-time jobs over the next decade to provide employment for young people looking for their first job and to bring down unemployment. But, why is unemployment chronically high? And what needs to be done to fix it?

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Employment, International Monetary Fund, Middle East, عربي | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Raising Competitiveness: Recipe for Tapping into the Middle East’s Growth Potential

Posted on October 29, 2010 by iMFdirect

With the global economy on the mend, countries in the Middle East and North Africa are witnessing a pickup in trade and economic growth. But, within the region, the picture is mixed. Indeed, for the region’s oil-importing countries, we are likely to see growth nudge up from 4½ percent in 2009 to around 5 percent this year. However, that is well below the growth rate required to create the 18 million jobs needed over the next decade.

For these countries, greater competitiveness will be the crucial ingredient to boosting economic growth and employment. In this blog post, Masood Ahmed explores what we mean by ‘competitiveness’ and what are the policy actions governments need to take to raise it.

Filed under: Economic outlook, International Monetary Fund, Middle East, عربي | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Weekend in Washington: Cooperating Our Way Out of Crisis

Posted on October 12, 2010 by iMFdirect

This past weekend in Washington DC, as the economic leaders of 187 countries gathered for the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, the mood was tense. The world’s finance ministers and central bank governors were concerned because the global recovery is fragile. And, on top of the risks to the outlook, there is concern that the strong international cooperation that was shown during the crisis is in danger of receding.

So, after the meetings, was the atmosphere less tense? Yes…and no. The world made some progress over the weekend. But we shouldn’t be too self-congratulatory. We are not yet out of the woods. The IMF’s analysis indicates that improved economic policy coordination, over the next five years, could increase global growth by 2.5 percent, create or save 30 million jobs, and lift 33 million more out of poverty. With such high potential returns, can we really afford each to go our own way?

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Annual Meetings, G-20, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Multilateral Cooperation, عربي | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

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