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Tags: arab republic of egypt, economic developments, economic growth, external environment, food prices, foodstuffs, gdp growth, hydrocarbons, international financial markets, market valuations, mortgage backed securities, north africa, oecd countries, oil exporting countries, oil prices, region1, remittance, republic of egypt, slowdown, turbulence,Pages: 8
Language: english
Created: Mon Jun 30 11:10:15 2008
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Overview
During 2007 the Middle East and North Africa region1 (MENA) experienced average growth of
5.7 percent. This was the fifth year in a row in which the region grew at a rate higher than 5
percent, exceeding levels reached in the 1990s and early 2000s. This performance occurred in
the context of an external environment marked by three major developments: a continued rise in
the price of hydrocarbons, turbulence in international financial markets following the sharp drop
in market valuations of U.S. mortgage-backed securities, and a sharp rise in the price of non-oil
commodities, especially foodstuffs. These developments have affected the various MENA
economies in different ways. On average, however, the region has done well, with respectable
growth and comfortable external and fiscal balances. Similar performance, that is, average
growth of around 5.6 percent, is expected over the next three years. Oil prices are expected to
remain buoyant, leading to high levels of investment and remittance flows within the region.
Food prices are also expected to remain high. Since most countries in the region subsidize food
and energy, this will lead to fiscal pressures for many of them. But such pressures are not
expected to choke off economic growth. Global financial turbulence and a likely slowdown of
growth in the OECD countries are expected to be offset by continued robust spending among oil-
exporting countries and vibrant expansion in China and India.
Economic Developments and Prospects
Distribution of growth across region. During 2007, GDP growth was almost evenly distributed
across the sub- groups of the region. For the resource-poor labor abundant economies (RPLA),
output growth slipped to 5.4 percent in 2007 from 6.3 percent in 2006. But, with the exception of
1
The region consists of resource-poor, labor-abundant economies (Arab Republic of Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon,
and Djibouti); resource-rich, labor-abundant economies (Algeria, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Syrian Arab Republic, and the
Republic of Yemen); and resource-rich, labor-importing economies (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar,
Oman, and Bahrain).
Overview xvii
Morocco and Djibouti, GDP accelerated or equaled its 2006 pace in all other economies of the
subgroup. Per-capita GDP eased to 3.8 percent in the year, still well above the 2.6 percent pace
for the 2000-04 period.
High levels of hydrocarbon revenues, albeit reduced from earlier years, supported growth for oil
exporters. Developments for the group of resource-rich labor-abundant economies (RRLA) were
dominated by key hydrocarbon producers Iran and Algeria. GDP growth for the RRLA group
rose from 4.5 percent in 2006 to 5.7 percent during 2007 on a rebound in output in both Iran and
Algeria. Growth eased in the remaining countries of the group, notably so in Syria. In line with
improvements in group output, per capita GDP advanced 3.6 percent in the year, above its long-
term trend. For the resource-rich, labor- importing (RRLI) countries, developments were mixed.
GDP growth fell to 5.8 percent from 6.2 percent in the year, as crude oil production was scaled
back by a substantial 4.3 percent.
While the region has done well in comparison with its own past, the same cannot be said when
comparing with other regions. For example, the 3.7 percent growth of per capita income in 2007
is almost two percentage points higher than levels achieved in the late 1990s. But it is still less
than the rate achieved by other developing regions. This implies that the region must continue to
pay attention to the unfinished structural reform agenda in order to assure sustained progress in a
more competitive world.
Changing sources of growth. The role of different sources of growth has changed over the course
of the decade. During the early part of the decade, growth was driven largely by domestic
consumption. Since then, the contribution of investment has been rising and in 2007 investment
accounted for more than 100 percent of real GDP growth (offset in part by large negative
contributions from net exports.) The contribution of government consumption to growth, which
had increased over 2004-2006, declined in 2007.
Impact of global financial turbulence. The impact of global financial turbulence has been
limited. Though equity markets in the region initially tended to follow the path undertaken by
emerging markets as shown by the MSCI EM index, the GCC countries, Egypt and Morocco
outperformed this index over the last quarter of 2007 and into early 2008. Spreads on MENA
sovereign bonds escalated, but in like fashion to the experience of all developing countries, the
increase in spreads reflected the fall in U.S. Treasury yields (flight to quality) such that MENA
sovereign yields were largely unchanged. And real estate developments in GCC countries were
little affected by changes in the international financial environment, though a tightening of credit
criteria could come into play in the coming years.
xviii Economic Development and Prospects
Impact of oil price rise. The ramp- up in global oil prices over the course of 2007, to set all-time
records above $100/bbl during early 2008, continues to be a major factor in MENA region
developments. Oil prices increased 78 percent over the course of 2007, from $54/bbl at the start
of the year to $94.50/bbl on December 31. 2 Prices averaged $71/bbl for the year, up 10.5 percent
over the average for 2006. Crude oil and refined product export revenues advanced by 11.6
percent in the year--from $585 billion to $653 billion (including Iraq). This contrasts with a 27
percent increase in oil receipts during 2006, rising $122 billion, and underscores the fact that
production in the region has been declining--either due to bind ing capacity constraints, or to
output in several countries being managed to remain in line with agreed OPEC quotas.
Nonetheless, the $68 billion increase in oil-related export receipts helped sustain government
spending programs, while allowing a moderate buildup in international reserves and
contributions to Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) by several countries.
Impact of food price shock. The sharp rise in the price of staple foodgrains such as rice and
wheat had a varying impact on different countries depending on certain risk factors. Low
income countries that are relatively big food importers (in terms of proportion of imports and
consumption) have been at highest risk: examples include Djibouti and Yemen. In Yemen, food
price inflation exceeded 20 percent in 2007, the highest in the region. Other risk factors include
the extent to which food features in the spending patterns of the lowest income groups in a
country. Here countries like Djibouti, Egypt and Yemen are among the most vulnerable since
the bottom two quintiles of their populations spend 50 percent or more of their household
budgets on food. It is not surprising that both Egypt and Yemen experienced episodes of social
unrest in recent months. For many countries, the positive impact of economic growth on poverty
has most likely been offset substantially by food price inflation in 2007 although not enough
information is available at this point to provide robust estimates. Also, some countries have felt
the pressure of food price increases directly in national budgets since they subsidize staple
foodstuffs. Thus, countries like Egypt, Iran, and Syria have seen food subsidies claim shares of
between 4 percent (in Egypt) and 8 percent (in Iran) of their budgets in 2007. Among GCC
countries, the chief manifestation of food price increases has been inflation.
Foreign direct investment. FDI continued to flow at high levels, some $45 billion, down
moderately from the record $52 billion recorded in 2006. In contrast with 2000-2004, when FDI
flows were more evenly distributed, three countries attracted the bulk of flows from 2005
forward. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are now the three largest FDI
recipients in the region, accounting for more than half of inward FDI flows. The GCC countries
2
World Bank Average basis: a simple average of Brent, WTI and Dubai crude oil prices (spot).
Overview xix
are generating healthy FDI outflows as well, of which just over 10 percent is destined for other
countries within the region. In several MENA countries, the inflow of FDI appears to be heavily
oriented towards real estate and energy sector investments. This is generating two concerns:
first, that such investments might push up inflation through raising the price of non-tradeables
(especially housing) and second, that they are not likely to contribute as much to reducing
unemployment as would investments in the labor- intensive manufacturing sector. These
concerns should be assessed through empirical analysis since some service sector projects,
especially in the tourism/hotels area, can be quite labor- intensive.
Inflation. Inflation has increased around the world and MENA has not been immune to this
trend. The main causes relate to rising energy and food costs and, for the GCC countries in
particular, their pass-through into domestic prices through a fixed dollar peg. Prices of over
$100/bbl for oil inflate energy costs from gasoline to heating oil to jet fuel. And the dramatic
hike in food prices (largely grains and agricultural fats and oils) are directly linked to higher
fertilizer costs (energy), massively increased use of grains and fats for bio- fuels, and shrinking
acreage utilized for feed and food. Higher inflation linked to these sources may be here to stay
for several years. Policy makers in the region are already flagging this as a serious concern for
macroeconomic stability, export competitiveness and the welfare of the public, especially the
poor.
Future growth prospects. Several factors are likely to shape MENA's growth profile over the
medium term. A softening of industrial country demand is anticipated for 2008, primarily in the
United States. This will be accompanied by continued high global oil prices, tied to robust
demand in emerging markets and supply restraint. This will help support regional output growth
of 5.9 percent in 2008. Food prices will also continue to stay high, putting pressure on the fiscal
and external balances of several MENA countries who are net importers of food. As the global
environment stabilizes by 2009 and 2010, MENA should be able to maintain growth momentum
at 5.6 and 5.3 percent respectively, with per-capita gains averaging 3.3 percent in 2010.
Domestic conditions will vary markedly across the economies of the region. And the flux of
developments related to continuing tensions in the region will affect global and regional investor
confidence. But overall, MENA countries have positive prospects and the opportunity to
advance reforms and position themselves better for sustainable growth and employment creation
under global competitiveness.
xx Economic Development and Prospects
Regional Integration Developments
The rise in the price of hydrocarbons in recent years has revived interest in intra-regional
integration as a means of sharing prosperity within the region. In this context, integration is
viewed not just as a set of preferential trade agreements but also as a means to foster the flow of
labor, capital and investment. Efforts to promote such deeper integration are gaining
prominence, and the paradigm of open regionalism that is based on the use of regional
preferences as stepping stones for global integration and competitiveness is receiving the
renewed attention of policy makers.
Trade. As far as trade integration is concerned, the region does not lack formal agreements.
Many intra-regional agreements have been signed in the last few decades and at least one
geographically comprehensive agreement, the Pan Arab Free Trade Agreement, is under
implementation. The general impression, however, is that intra-regional trade is low compared to
potential and to levels achieved by economic blocs elsewhere in the world. For example, intra-
regional merchandise exports among PAFTA members is around 9 percent of total bloc exports.
This is much less than the levels achieved by blocs such as NAFTA and ASEAN although
comparable to the levels achieved by other blocs, such as MERCOSUR and COMESA.
Low levels of intra-regional trade can partly be explained by the lack of complementarity in
production and trade structures across the region. Bilateral complementarity indices show that
the match between desired imports and available exports within the region is generally poor, and
remains significantly below the level found in successful regional communities. Other
impediments, arising in policy choices, consist of uneven levels of import protection (widely
dispersed tariff rates), high levels of nontariff barriers and poor logistics (involving customs, port
and transport arrangements). While most trade agreements focus on reciprocal tariff reductions,
studies show that the removal of nontariff barriers and improvement of logistics would provide
greater welfare benefits at this stage in MENA.
Labor Mobility. The region is more integrated through labor mobility than through trade and
investment. While its share of global trade flows is below 5 percent, 16 percent of all remittances
paid out to migrants in the world originate in the MENA region and 10 percent of global
remittances are received by residents of MENA countries. In recent years, the oil boom has led to
increased migration to the oil-exporting countries, though this tendency is also cons trained by the
desire in such countries to reserve many jobs for nationals and the competition for available jobs
provided by migrants from South and Southeast Asian countries. As migration flows become
Overview xxi
larger, remittances may also be expected to increase, thus reversing a declining trend observed
over the past decade or so in several MENA countries.
Capital Flows. Two trends frame the current context for intra-regional capital flows. First, on the
demand side, a number of economies, previously dominated by the public sector, are opening up
and have embarked on a series of structural reforms. Second, on the supply side, ample liquidity
is available in the Gulf States from the oil boom and investors are searching for opportunities
everywhere. How much capital actually does flow intra-regionally depends on regulatory
developments applying to banks, stock markets, and foreign investments.
With respect to portfolio flows, investors from the GCC are showing interest in stocks of non-
GCC countries seeing up side potential in these markets. Market capitalization in MENA
increased from only 13 percent of GDP a decade ago to 50 percent by 2005, partly on the
strength of cross-border portfolio flows. However, barriers and restrictions on portfolio capital
movements continue to hinder deeper capital market integration and stock markets remain thin as
far as trading and participation is concerned.
Direct foreign investment flows have been boosted by the improved business climate in some
MENA countries, coupled with some economic liberalization and increased privatization.
Project-based investments are targeting countries such as Syria, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Egypt
covering several sectors including telecommunications, real estate, tourism, banking and
financial institutions.
Intra-regional infrastructure links. The region is becoming more integrated through cross-border
infrastructure projects in energy, transportr and telecommunications. With the support of the
European Union, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria have embarked in the establishment of a
regional gas market which will be ultimately integrated with the EU internal gas market.
Likewise, positive steps have been taken regarding the interconnection of power grids in the
region even though energy trade between member countries remains limited to emergency
situations. In the transport sector, the integration agenda is framed by two agreements: the
International Road Agreement and the International Railways Agreement in the Arab Mashreq.
In telecommunications, major regional equity investors have emerged as a result of the adoption
of sector reforms and common regulatory guidelines. These investors are currently accelerating
the regional integration of telecommunications markets.
Despite progress in regional integration in recent years, much remains to be done if MENA is to
keep up in an increasingly competitive global environment. More effective integration calls for
further reduction of tariff and nontariff barriers. In addition, large, untapped opportunities are
xxii Economic Development and Prospects
discernible in areas that have been largely neglected so far in regional integration efforts, notably
trade and transport facilitation, services market opening, and factor market integration. These
issues clearly deserve a higher profile on the policy agenda. Fortunately, all the associated
policy reforms are not only suitable for bringing MENA countries closer together, but will also
tend to make the economies of the region more competitive in international markets.
Structural Reform Progress
In recent years, MENA has embarked on wide-ranging reforms to improve the overall
environment for growth. This review focuses on reforms in three key areas, trade, business
climate and governance. The main findings may be summarized as follows:
Trade reforms. Substantial progress has been made in reducing tariffs and the time required for
import and export processing. Tariffs have been reduced from a simple average of 20 percent in
2000 to 13 percent by 2007, a decline not matched in any other region over this period. However,
non-tariff barriers remain high and trade logistics performance, reflecting the quality of customs,
ports and transport arrangements, remains sub-par.
Business climate reforms. Despite notable improvements in some countries (e.g., Egypt and
Saudi Arabia), as a whole the region has failed to keep pace with business climate reforms
elsewhere. In terms of reform effort, it ranks in the bottom third worldwide (29th percentile).
Governance reforms. Progress with regard to governance has been mixed.3 On the one hand,
the quality of public administration remains relatively high in MENA, ranking above East Asia,
Latin America, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, this ranking has slipped relative
to last year. On the other hand, the quality of public accountability remains very low in MENA,
ranking below all other regions of the world. However, in terms of reform efforts devoted to
improving accountability, MENA ranked in the 67th percentile, above all other regions. The
latter ranking reflects a range of improvements in combating corruption, addressing weaknesses
in the judiciary, improving property rights, and streamlining bureaucracy, especially among the
GCC countries.
3
The data used to assess progress in governance is drawn from a variety of sources. The interpretations provided in
this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Management and Board of Directors of the World Bank.
Overview xxiii
Table 1: Progress with structural reform
Governance:
Governance: Quality Public sector
Trade policy Business climate c of administration accountability
Country/region Current Reform Current Reform Current Reform Current Reform
statusa progressb statusa progressb statusa progressb statusa progressb
Algeria 58 69 30 51 32 11 27 56
Bahrain -- 71 -- -- 75 62 25 94
Djibouti 52 47 11 -- -- -- -- --
Egypt, Arab Republic of 72 96 20 61 42 94 23 75
Iran, Islamic Republic of 1 73 21 1 30 38 22 8
Iraq -- -- 37 -- -- -- -- --
Jordan 50 91 49 37 54 22 34 62
Kuwait 58 7 77 12 55 29 32 77
Lebanon 13 91 42 3 -- -- -- --
Libya -- -- -- -- 4 15 0 45
Morocco 64 55 31 17c 75 90 32 77
Oman 44 70 76 69 56 28 17 88
Qatar -- 8 -- -- 61 82 14 65
Saudi Arabia 61 87 87 55 71 92 5 68
Syrian Arab Republic 32 38 23 8c 13 48 8 67
Tunisia 56 57 49 52 73 75 20 30
United Arab Emirates 77 -- 54 6 44 2 20 84
West Bank and Gaza -- -- 33 -- -- -- -- --
Yemen, Republic of 20 87 63 10 23 18 19 57
Regional averages (unweighted)
MENA 47 63 44 29 47 47 20 64
Resource-poor 51 73 32 42 61 70 27 61
Resource-rich, labor- abundant 28 67 35 17 24 29 19 47
Resource rich, labor-importing 60 49 73 35 53 44 16 74
East Asia and Pacific 49 43 63 45 46 50 39 41
Europe and Central Asia 50 55 56 63 54 64 53 56
Latin America and Caribbean 60 57 47 46 43 42 57 42
High-Income OECD 82 63 84 63 89 48 91 48
South Asia 23 40 46 33 34 51 37 29
Sub-Saharan Africa 29 30 26 46 31 45 36 53
World 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50
Source: World Bank staff estimates .
a. For each index, the country's current status reflects its 2007 placement in a worldwide ordering based on a variety of relevant indicators, expressed
as a cumulative frequency distribution, with 100 reflecting the country with the "best" policies worldwide, and 0 representing the country with the
"worst" policies worldwide.
b. Reform progress reflects the improvement in a country's rank between 2000 and 2007 (or between 2003 and 2007 in the case of business and
regulatory reform) in a worldwide ordering of countries based on changes in a variety of relevant indicators, expressed as a cumulative frequency
distribution, with 100 reflecting the country with the greatest improvement in rank worldwide, and 0 reflecting the country with the greatest
deterioration in rank worldwide.
c. The business climate index reported in this year's MENA Economic Developments and Prospects Report has been substantially revised (reflecting
both changes in the indicators used and considerable revisions to historical data) and is not comparable with the index that appeared in last year's
MENA Economic Developments and Prospects report.
--- = Data not available.
xxiv Economic Development and Prospects