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Key Characteristics of Employment Regulations in the Middle East and North Africa

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  • Diego F. Angel-Urdinola
  • Arvo Kuddo

Abstract

This note provides a general background of the main features of labor regulation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and benchmarks them against international best practices. The note compiles information on available labor laws and other legal acts concerning employment protection regulation. Within the broader scope of labor regulation, and in order to assure regional comparability, information collected focuses on key issues in the labor law associated with commencing or terminating employment and during the period of employment (including maternity benefits). The main sources the data are the World Bank doing business 2010 and International Labour Organisation (ILO) databank. This note is a tool to provide policymakers and international organizations with a regional diagnose of how labor regulation affects labor market outcomes in MENA and inform client governments about strategic approaches to employment creation through labor policy and reform. This activity comes as a response to regional priorities in the context of the Arab World Initiative (AWI). One of the six strategic themes of the AWI focuses explicitly on employment creation as a top priority. Part of the World Bank's mandate under the AWI is to inform client governments about strategic approaches to employment creation through labor policy and reform.
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  • Diego F. Angel-Urdinola & Arvo Kuddo, 2011. "Key Characteristics of Employment Regulations in the Middle East and North Africa," World Bank Publications - Reports 10893, The World Bank Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wboper:10893
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    2. Aysit Tansel & Halil Ibrahim Keskin & Zeynel Abidin Ozdemir, 2015. "Is There an Informal Employment Wage Penalty in Egypt?," Working Papers 976, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2015.
    3. Angel-Urdinola, Diego F. & Semlali, Amina & Brodmann, Stefanie, 2010. "Non-public provision of active labor market programs in Arab- Mediterranean countries : an inventory of youth programs," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 55673, The World Bank.
    4. Selwaness, Irène & Zaki, Chahir, 2019. "On the interaction between exports and labor market regulation: Evidence from the MENA countries," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 24-33.
    5. Holzmann, Robert & Pouget, Yann & Vodopivec, Milan & Weber, Michael, 2011. "Severance Pay Programs around the World: History, Rationale, Status, and Reforms," IZA Discussion Papers 5731, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. repec:zbw:rwirep:0448 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Ali Fakih & Pascal L. Ghazalian, 2015. "What factors influence firm perceptions of labour market constraints to growth in the MENA region?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(8), pages 1181-1206, November.
    8. Angel-Urdinola, Diego F. & Semlali, Amina, 2010. "Labor Markets and School-to-Work Transition in Egypt: Diagnostics, Constraints, and Policy Framework," MPRA Paper 27674, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Ali Souag & Ragui Assaad, 2018. "The impact of the action plan for promoting employment and combating unemployment on employment informality in Algeria," Middle East Development Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 272-298, July.
    10. Tansel, Aysit & Keskin, Halil Ibrahim & Ozdemir, Zeynel Abidin, 2020. "Public-private sector wage gap by gender in Egypt: Evidence from quantile regression on panel data, 1998–2018," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    11. Ahmed Fayez Abdelgouad, 2015. "Determinants of Using Fixed-Term Contracts in the Egyptian Labor Market: Empirical Evidence from Manufacturing Firms Using World Bank Firm-Level Data for Egypt," Journal of Empirical Economics, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 4(1), pages 29-48.
    12. Ansgar Belke & Christian Dreger, 2013. "The Transmission of Oil and Food Prices to Consumer Prices – Evidence for the MENA Countries," Ruhr Economic Papers 0448, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    13. Ansgar Belke & Christian Dreger, 2013. "The Transmission of Oil and Food Prices to Consumer Prices: Evidence for the MENA Countries," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1332, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    14. Tansel, Aysit & Keskin, Halil Ibrahim & Ozdemir, Zeynel Abidin, 2008. "Public versus Private Sector Wage Gap in Egypt: Evidence from Quantile Regression on Panel Data," MPRA Paper 89540, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Ousama Ben-Salha & Zouhair Mrabet, 2019. "Is Economic Growth Really Jobless? Empirical Evidence from North Africa," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 61(4), pages 598-624, December.
    16. Holzmann, Robert, 2010. "Bringing financial literacy and education to low and middle income countries : the need to review, adjust, and extend current wisdom," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 56501, The World Bank.
    17. Efstratia Arampatzi & Martijn Burger & Elena Ianchovichina & Tina Röhricht & Ruut Veenhoven, 2018. "Unhappy Development: Dissatisfaction With Life on the Eve of the Arab Spring," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(s1), pages 80-113, October.
    18. Cerami, Alfio, 2015. "Social Protection and The Politics of Anger in the Middle East and North Africa," MPRA Paper 92272, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Ansgar Belke & Christian Dreger, 2015. "The transmission of oil and food prices to consumer prices," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 143-161, March.
    20. Jackline Wahba & Ragui Assaad, 2017. "Flexible Labor Regulations and Informality in Egypt," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 962-984, November.
    21. Irène Selwaness & Chahir Zaki, 2015. "On the Interaction Between Trade Reforms and Labor Market Regulation: Evidence from the MENA Countries' Labor Markets," Working Papers 970, Economic Research Forum, revised Nov 2015.
    22. Aysit Tansel & Halil Ibrahim Keskin & Zeynel Abidin Ozdemir, 2020. "Is there an informal employment wage penalty in Egypt? Evidence from quantile regression on panel data," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 58(6), pages 2949-2979, June.
    23. Aysit Tansel & Halil Ibrahim Keskin & Zeynel Abidin Ozdemir, 2015. "Is There An Infırmal Employment Wage Penalty in Egypt?," ERC Working Papers 1508, ERC - Economic Research Center, Middle East Technical University, revised Sep 2015.

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