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.
Agenda
Date
12/01/2023
Location
Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Senior Associates
Samir Makdisi
Professor Emeritus of Economics, American University of...
Speakers
Roberta V. Gatti
Chief Economist, Middle East and North Africa,...
Speakers
Hoda Assem
Economist (ETC), Office of the Chief Economist...
Speakers
Johannes Hoogeveen
Manager, MENA Poverty and Equity Global Practice,...
Speakers
Federica Saliola
Lead Economist, Social Protection and Jobs Global...
Speakers
Somik Lall
Lead Economist, Office of the Chief Economist...
Research Fellows
Noha El-Mikawy
Dean, School of Global Affairs and Public...
Research Fellows
Hadi Salehi Esfahani
Director of CSAMES and Professor of Economics...