The paper analyzes the scope and implications of greater economic integration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). After reviewing whether MENA satisfies the defining characteristics of a region, it documents the low level of regional economic interaction. It argues that gains from...

After a prolonged and almost total reliance on debt restructurings and concerted money facilities, several Latin American countries have mobilized voluntary financing from international capital markets. Although the phenomenon is still limited in terms of volume and number of borrowers, it has...

Within a broad framework for analyzing portfolio flows to developing countries, the paper undertakes a comparative analysis of equity markets in six Middle Eastern countries. The analysis, based primarily on a range of quantitative indicators, identifies the principal characteristics of these...

In the United States and Europe, central banks have essentially been the only policymaking entities consistently willing and able to take bold measures to deal with an unusually complex set of national, regional, and global economic and financial challenges since the onset of the Great Recession...

The paper examines the challenges that developing countries face in accelerating and sustaining growth. The cases of China and India are examined to illustrate a more general phenomenon which might be called model uncertainty. As a developing economy grows, its market and regulatory institutions...

This paper provides an economic overview of the very diverse countries within the large geographical area. It highlights the economic challenges and opportunities facing the MENA region, the policies pursued by the countries in the region, and the outlook for the external environment. The paper...

Kuwait has made an impressive recovery from the damage and disruptions caused by the Iraqi invasion in 1990, as evidenced by the restoration of basic economic and social services, the recovery of the oil sector, the rehabilitation of infrastructure, and the steady reduction in the fiscal and...

The paper considers investment and growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Notwithstanding cross-country differences, investment as a whole has been too low, too heavily tilted toward the public sector, too highly dependent on external influences, and less productive than in...

The paper analyzes the scope and implications of greater economic integration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). After reviewing whether MENA satisfies the defining characteristics of a region, it documents the low level of regional economic interaction. It argues that gains from...