Seminar on: A New State of Mind: The Learning State

FromJan 12, 2023 To Jan 12, 2023

Online Webinar

ERF and the office of the Chief Economist, Middle East and North Africa, the World Bank are organizing this seminar to discuss the World Bank’s latest MENA Economic Update, “A New State of Mind: The Learning State”

The MENA region is facing important vulnerabilities, which the current crises—first the pandemic, then the war in Ukraine—have exacerbated. Prices of food and energy are higher, hurting the most vulnerable, and rising interest rates from the global tightening of monetary policy are making debt service more burdensome.

Heightened uncertainty, today, puts heavy demands on the state: to inform and coordinate individual action during a pandemic; to sustain economic production through unprecedented cyclical swings; to protect the most vulnerable from poverty; to dial back the rapid losses in schooling and ramp up the capacity of health systems. As never before, authorities must learn from the past, identify the state’s strengths and weaknesses, and be ready to change the direction of public policy towards increased effectiveness. In Part II of this report we are keen to re-open the conversation about governance, particularly about two of its core dimensions — transparency and accountability. Good measurement and transparent information can shape an understanding of challenges shared across different stakeholders, within and outside the state. Accountability aligns incentives for action. Together, transparency and accountability are essential for a “learning state,” one that is well equipped to measure, experiment, and adjust policy action towards a common goal of inclusive and sustainable development — with reforms that require political will but that are not necessarily costly fiscally.

 

Read the report

 

Register here!

Agenda

Date

12/01/2023

Location

Webinar

Time

From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm

Speakers

Samir Makdisi

Senior Associates

Samir Makdisi

Professor Emeritus of Economics, American University of...

Roberta V. Gatti

Speakers

Roberta V. Gatti

Chief Economist, Middle East and North Africa,...

Hoda Assem

Speakers

Hoda Assem

Economist (ETC), Office of the Chief Economist...

Johannes Hoogeveen

Speakers

Johannes Hoogeveen

Manager, MENA Poverty and Equity Global Practice,...

Federica Saliola

Speakers

Federica Saliola

Lead Economist, Social Protection and Jobs Global...

Somik Lall

Speakers

Somik Lall

Lead Economist, Office of the Chief Economist...

Noha El-Mikawy

Research Fellows

Noha El-Mikawy

Dean, School of Global Affairs and Public...

Hadi Salehi Esfahani

Research Fellows

Hadi Salehi Esfahani

Director of CSAMES and Professor of Economics...

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