EXPORTS TO IMPROVE LABOR MARKETS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

Edited by Gladys Lopez-Acevedo and Raymond Robertson

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, trade liberalization measures have coincided with stable economic growth, and GDP per capita growth has surpassed that of other developing regions. However, MENA’s labor-market outcomes—such as average wage levels, informality rate, and female labor force participation—continue to underperform. Why has rising trade failed to produce better labor market outcomes in low- and middle-income countries in the region?

This report focuses on the impact of trade policy on trade-flows and their relationship with local labor market outcomes in three low- and middle-income countries—the Arab Republic of Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. Given their idiosyncratic labor markets, export diversification, and trade policy history, these three countries offer important lessons for economic development in the region. Policy makers and stakeholders can use these findings to design policies to improve the chances that higher trade flows will deliver better labor market outcomes and ensure that the benefits are more equally shared.

MIDDLE

June 2023. 188 pages.

Stock no. C211972 (ISBN: 978-1-4648-1972-8). US$43.95