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The Tyranny of Aid Critics
Charles Kindleberger (h/t Gerry Helleiner) asserted that all reviewers can be counted on to say three things about a book: “It isn’t new. It isn’t true. And I would have said it differently.”...
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Growth Without Apology
From time to time, countries experience rapid economic growth without a significant decline in poverty. India’s GDP growth rate accelerated in the 1990s and 2000s, but poverty continued to fall at the...
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Education as if Economics Mattered
Education in developing countries is facing problems at all levels: At the primary level, despite gains in enrollment, the quality is appallingly low. In Tanzania and India, some 20-30 percent of...
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It’s not the How; It’s the Why
Hardly a week goes by without my hearing the statement, “It’s not the What; it’s the How.” On the reform of energy subsidies in the Middle East and North Africa, for instance, the discussion is...
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It’s Not the How; It’s the Why
Hardly a week goes by without my hearing the statement, “It’s not the What; it’s the How.” On the reform of energy subsidies in the Middle East and North Africa, for instance, the discussion is...
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Corrosive Subsidies in MENA
Half the world’s energy subsidies are in the Middle East and North Africa Region. These subsidies have been criticized on grounds that they crowd out public spending on valuable items such as health,...
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Budget Rules for Resource Booms - and Busts
The recent, precipitous decline in oil prices (35 percent so far this year) has revived the question of how oil-exporting countries should manage their budgets. These countries’ governments rely on...
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How Well did We Forecast 2014?
A year ago, we polled Future Development bloggers for predictions on the coming year (2014). Looking back, we find that many unforeseen (and possibly unforeseeable) events had major economic impact....
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Future Development Forecasts 2015
Despite their mixed record last year, Future Development's bloggers once again offer their predictions for 2015. Eight themes emerge. 1. Global growth and trade. The US economy will strengthen far...
View ArticleWhat does cheap oil mean for the Arab World?
. As the price of oil falls, the discussion is heating up on what the impact will be for countries in the Arab World – especially online through the popular Arabic hashtag النفط_دون_50_دولار #...
View ArticleWhat are the prospects for economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa?
. World Bank Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa, Shanta Devarajan discusses potential economic scenarios for the region. Back in January we were cautiously optimistic about the...
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What is the social contract and why does the Arab world need a new one?
The ‘social contract’ is an idea that dates back to the ancient Greeks, and refers to the implicit agreement among members of a society that defines their relationship with each other and the state....
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How the Middle East and North Africa can benefit from low oil prices
This blog originally appeared in Future Development.[[tweetable]]The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a region of extremes[[/tweetable]]. It has the highest unemployment rate in the developing...
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The paradox of higher education in MENA
This blog originally appeared in Future Development.Note: This is an English version of my keynote speech given at the recent MENA conference on “Paradigm Shifts in Tertiary Education” in Algiers on...
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Preventing economic collapse in Gaza, realizing the potential of the Jordan...
This blog originally appeared in Future Development.In Hebrew (PDF)To an economist, working on the West Bank and Gaza can be exceptionally frustrating. No matter how good the analysis, the policy...
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The economic impact of the Syrian conflict: Estimate it yourself
Everyone agrees that conflicts impose huge costs on economies, including massive destruction of infrastructure and housing, disruption of trade, transport and production, not to mention the loss of...
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