How Transparency Can Help the Middle East and North Africa - April 2020 - Economic Update

Jul 19, 2026

Middle East and North Africa Economic Update (April 2020) explains how transparency can strengthen economic resilience amid overlapping shocks from the novel coronavirus and the oil price collapse. The report links weak disclosure and data limitations to challenges in fiscal sustainability, external imbalances, and the measurement of labor market outcomes. It emphasizes improving statistical capacity, defining key indicators, and quantifying crisis effects to accelerate growth across MENA economies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages64

Reading Time2 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Overview: How Transparency Can Help the Middle East and North Africa

Chapter I: The Dual Shocks of the Novel Coronavirus and the Oil Price Collapse

The spread of Covid-19

The Collapse of Oil Prices

Toward a Sequencing of Policy Responses to the Dual Shocks

Quantifying the Effects of the Dual Shocks

MENA’s Chronic Low-Growth Syndrome

Enhancing MENA’s Transparency Can Accelerate Growth

Chapter II: External Imbalances, Fiscal Sustainability, and Data Transparency in MENA

Current Account Sustainability

Fiscal Sustainability: Lack of Transparency Obfuscates Existing Methods of Analysis

Chapter III: Data Gaps, Definitions, and the Measurement of Labor Market Outcomes

The Measurement of Unemployment in MENA

Female Labor-Force Participation: A Generational Issue

The Missing Piece: Measuring Informality in MENA

Conflict and Female Labor Force Participation

Chapter IV: Summary of Findings

WORLD BANK MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION MENA ECONOMIC UPDATE APRIL 2020 How Transparency Can Help the Middle East and North Africa Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized WORLD BANK MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGION MENA ECONOMIC UPDATE APRIL 2020 How Transparency Can Help the Middle East and North Africa 2020 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; [Internet: www.worldbank.org](Internet: www.worldbank.org) Some rights reserved 1 2 3 4 23 22 21 20 This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation upon or waiver of the privileges and immunities of The World Bank, all of which are specifically reserved.. Rights and Permissions This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/) [by/3.0/igo. Under the Creative Commons Attribution license](by/3.0/igo. Under the Creative Commons Attribution license), [you are free to copy](you are free to copy), [distribute](distribute), [transmit](transmit), [and adapt this work](and adapt this work), [including](including) [for commercial purposes](for commercial purposes), under the following conditions: Attribution—Please cite the work as follows: Arezki, Rabah; Lederman, Daniel; Abou Harb, Amani; El-Mallakh, Nelly; Fan, Rachel Yuting; Islam, Asif; Nguyen, Ha; Zouaidi, Marwane. 2020.“How Transparency Can Help the Middle East and North Africa.” Middle East and North Africa Economic Update (April), Washington, DC: World Bank. Doi: 10. 1596/978-1-4648-1561-4 . License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0 IGO Translations—If you create a translation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This translation was not created by The World Bank and should not be considered an official World Bank translation. The World Bank shall not be liable for any content or error in this translation. Adaptations—If you create an adaptation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This is an adaptation of an original work by The World Bank. Views and opinions expressed in the adaptation are the sole responsibility of the author or authors of the adaptation and are not endorsed by The World Bank. Third-party content—The World Bank does not necessarily own each component of the content contained within the work. The World Bank therefore does not warrant that the use of any third-party-owned individual component or part contained in the work will not infringe on the rights of those third parties. The risk of claims resulting from such infringement rests solely with you. If you wish to re-use a component of the work, it is your responsibility to determine whether permission is needed for that re-use and to obtain permission from the copyright owner. Examples of components can include, but are not limited to, tables, figures, or images. All queries on rights and licenses should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; e-mail: [pubrights@worldbank.org](pubrights@worldbank.org). ISBN (electronic): 978-1-4648-1561-4 DOI: 10. 1596/978-1-4648-

FAQs

How do the report describe the dual economic shocks affecting MENA in April 2020?

It frames the crisis as the combined impact of the spread of Covid-19 and the collapse of oil prices, and examines how these interact with MENA’s longer-term low-growth challenges.

Why does the report connect transparency with fiscal sustainability in MENA?

It argues that lack of transparency obscures existing methods of analysis, weakening the ability to assess and manage fiscal sustainability under crisis conditions.

What labor market measurement issues does the report highlight for MENA?

It focuses on measuring unemployment, addressing female labor-force participation as a generational issue, and improving how informality is measured, including attention to conflict effects on female participation.

Jul 19, 2026

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