News

By Alban Thomas Vehicle exhaust fumes are a major cause of air pollution in megacities like Cairo. This column outlines the policies that the Egyptian authorities have introduced in an effort to cut emission rates and raise the costs to users... Read More

Articles in this issue: Algeria–Mali trade: the normality of informality, Sami Bensassi, Anne Brockmeyer, Mathieu Pellerin & Gaël Raballand The determinants of voting for Islamists in Egypt’s first post-revolution elections 2011–2012, May Attallah The nexus between internal and external macroeconomic imbalances: evidence... Read More

By Michele Tuccio and Jackline Wahba Migration can be responsible for the spread of new social norms about gender roles. This column explores the impact of temporary migration from Jordan to more conservative and highly unequal neighbouring countries...more

By Simon Neaime New legislation by the Lebanese government, which provides a big boost to the salaries of public sector employees, puts considerable pressure on the country’s public finances...more

By Hanan Morsy Although the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region had been enjoying a decade of relatively high growth just prior to the Arab Spring, the fruits of prosperity remained...more

By Zafiris Tzannatos Two interconnected challenges for the Arab countries are how to increase the low participation of women in the labour market and how to reduce a longstanding reliance on the public sector...more

By Resul Cesur ,  Erdal Tekin and  Aydogan Ulker The widespread replacement of coal with natural gas as Turkey’s key energy source over the past 25 years has led to much improved air quality...more

By Rania Al-Mashat There is a clear need for MENA countries to create policy frameworks that will improve the credibility and effectiveness of economic policy-making...more

By Jamal Ibrahim Haidar and Hedi Larbi The World Bank’s Doing Business rankings provide a useful benchmark, but making them a key policy goal is inappropriate for Arab countries where the reform agenda needs to be far more wide-ranging. more...