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Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa

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  • Djavad Salehi-Isfahani

    (Virginia Tech and Brookings Institution)

Abstract

Middle East and North African countries (MENA) have achieved much to be proud of in human development. Falling child mortality and fertility have transformed family structures in most MENA countries. Despite important advances in health, education, and income, there are certain aspects human development in which MENA countries have not progressed as far. There are inequalities in human development regionally, within each country and for specific demographic groups, most importantly for youth and women. In this paper I review the record of human development in the MENA region to highlight areas in which the region has been more successful, as well those in which human development has lagged in absolute terms or relative to economic growth. I draw attention to certain important characteristics of the region that distinguish it from other developing regions, in particular the presence of oil income and delayed demographic transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, 2010. "Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2010-26, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    • Handle: RePEc:hdr:papers:hdrp-2010-26
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    File URL: http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2010/papers/HDRP_2010_26.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Haddad, Lawrence & Hoddinott, John & Alderman, Harold & DEC, 1994. "Intrahousehold resource allocation : an overview," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1255, The World Bank.
    2. Djavad Salehi-Isfahani & Daniel Egel, 2007. "Youth Exclusion in Iran: The State of Education, Employment and Family Formation," Working Papers e07-2, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Economics.
    3. Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, 2009. "Education and Earnings in The Middle East: A Comparative Study of Returns To Schooling in Egypt, Iran, and Turkey," Working Papers 504, Economic Research Forum, revised Sep 2009.
    4. Strauss, John & Thomas, Duncan, 1995. "Human resources: Empirical modeling of household and family decisions," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 34, pages 1883-2023, Elsevier.
    5. Schiavo-Campo, Salvatore & de Tommaso, Giulio & Mukherjee, Amitabha, 1997. "Government employment and pay : a global and regional perspective," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1771, The World Bank.
    6. Djavad Salehi-Isfahani & Insan Tunali & Ragui Assaad, 2009. "A Comparative Study Of Returns To Education Of Urban Men In Egypt, Iran, And Turkey," Middle East Development Journal (MEDJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(02), pages 145-187.
    7. Fatma El-Hamidi, 2006. "Why Does the MENA Region Have Such High Unemployment Rates?," Working Paper 270, Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh, revised Sep 2006.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Simon Commander, 2017. "Accounting for failures to reform in the Arab world," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 25(2), pages 351-373, April.
    2. Nour, S., 2014. "Migration of international students and mobilizing skills in the MENA Region," MERIT Working Papers 2014-031, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    3. David Cobham & Abdallah Zouache, 2015. "Economic Features of the Arab Spring," Working Papers 975, Economic Research Forum, revised Nov 2015.
    4. Djavad Salehi-Isfahani & Nadia Hassine & Ragui Assaad, 2014. "Equality of opportunity in educational achievement in the Middle East and North Africa," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 12(4), pages 489-515, December.
    5. Messkoub, M., 2013. "Demographic and social trends affecting intergenerational relations in the MENA region," ISS Working Papers - General Series 50173, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    6. IBOURK, Aomar & AMAGHOUSS, Jabrane, 2015. "Inequality In Education In The Mena Region: A Macroeconometric Investigation Using Normative Indicators," Applied Econometrics and International Development, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 15(2), pages 129-146.
    7. Karshenas, Massoud & Moghadam, Valentine M. & Alami, Randa, 2014. "Social Policy after the Arab Spring: States and Social Rights in the MENA Region," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 726-739.
    8. Facundo Alvaredo & Leonardo Gasparini, 2013. "Recent Trends in Inequality and Poverty in Developing Countries," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0151, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    9. Herrala, Risto & Turk-Ariss, Rima, 2016. "Capital accumulation in a politically unstable region," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-15.
    10. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & John Roemer & Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, 2016. "Inequality of Opportunity in Income and Consumption in Egypt," Working Papers 1002, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2016.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human development; Middle East and North Africa; Youth.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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