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The ADP Blog is an open platform for practitioners and researchers working on development issues in Arab countries. The ADP welcomes blogs in Arabic, English and French.
 
Interested contributors are encouraged to submit their blog entries (word format, up to 700 words) by e-mail ADPblogs@arabdevelopmentportal.com, mentioning/including the following:
 

1Title of the blog

2Name of the author

3Link to source, if previously published

4Photos (if any – up to 500KB)

5Translated version of your blog (if available)

 

Please note that we reserve the right to introduce minimal edits to the submitted article to enhance the clarity of the text. Major edits will be shared with the contributors ahead of publishing.
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  • Innovation Initiatives in the Arab World: Public Policy and Lessons Learned – Part II

    Julia Devlin, 05 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    Innovation initiatives across the Arab world are growing, often through innovation clusters, IT hubs, and national champions. One goal is to create a concentration or “spikiness” of innovation efforts. Such patterns are also prevalent globally and range from more state-centric approaches such as in China’s Guangdong Province to innovation hubs in the United States, which have evolved hand-in-hand with research universities and institutions supporting an entrepreneurial community. National champions play a critical part. In the Republic of Korea, for example, Samsung, LG, and SK...Read More

  • Innovations in the Arab World: Global Innovation Rankings and What Corporate Executives Are Saying – Part I

    Julia Devlin, 05 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    Globally, innovation rankings tend to be correlated with per capita income levels. On average, Arab countries rank 85th and are roughly comparable with countries such as Indonesia. Challenge areas include creative outputs as well as knowledge and technology outputs. Jordan is among a select group of emerging and middle-income countries—including China, Costa Rica, Hungary, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam—that are rapidly moving up the rankings relative to per capita income levels. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, such as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab...Read More

  • Improving the Arab Institutional Infrastructure for Sound Financial Systems

    Wafik Grais, 05 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    Sound financial infrastructure is characterized by reliable and easily accessible financial information, credible and transparent commercial regulation and effective legal dispute resolutions mechanisms.  Arab countries’ financial infrastructure still leaves to be desired and limits the expansion of the region’s financial systems and their ability to support socioeconomic development.   In terms of the financial information infrastructure, Arab countries do well, but could improve.  Data and information providers, such as the Prime Holding and Zawya, collect,...Read More

  • Barriers to the Growth of Housing Finance in the Arab World

    Wafik Grais, 05 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    With a third of the population currently under the age of 15 and dire projections of future housing need, increased mortgage and housing lending is an urgent priority in the Arab world (Mirkin 2010).  Currently, mortgage loans account for less than 10 per cent of loan portfolios in the region, low by international standards.  Africa, East Asia and Latin American and the Caribbean estimates put mortgage loans at 10, 16 and 20 percent of total loan portfolios, well above the Arab region.   The presence of housing finance across the region is uneven as it is for...Read More

  • Mixed Results on Human Development in Egypt

    Wafik Grais, 05 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    Since the 1980s, health indicators in Egypt have improved significantly but with citizens bearing a heavy health expenditures burden. Life expectancy increased from about 57 in the early 1980s to 73.5 in the early 2010s, slightly higher than the average for Arab countries. At 75.5 years, female life expectancy is slightly higher than male life expectancy.[1] The increase reflects improvements in water and sanitation and health provision services that enabled reductions in mortality rates.[2] However, total health expenditures in gross domestic product (GDP) remain less than half...Read More

  • Public-Private Partnerships in Education: Evidence from Jordan’s Education Initiative's Success – Part II

    Julia Devlin, 04 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    A recent evaluation of Jordan’s Education Initiative (JEI) offers valuable insights into the impact of an education PPP. Launched in 2003 under the umbrella of the World Economic Forum, JEI is a local, global, and multi-stakeholder partnership. Its aim is to integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) into grades 1–12 as a teaching and learning tool. JEI is part of a national strategy to enhance knowledge economy skills. JEI's four main objectives are to:   Improve education delivery through PPPs Promote innovation among teachers and students in...Read More

  • Public-Private Partnerships in Education: Where Does the Arab World Stand? Issues and Evidence – Part I

    Julia Devlin, 04 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    Public-private partnerships (PPPs) in education can boost the quality of and access to education, which, in turn, can provide significant benefits to students, through improved learning, and to society as a whole, through gains to GDP over a student’s lifetime. PPPs can range from construction and upgrading of school buildings to outsourcing of school management, government purchasing programs, and voucher programs. Public subsidies to existing private schools or to fund student places are the most common PPP.   From 1990 to 2003, private enrollment grew significantly in...Read More

  • Egypt's Long Transition to a Modern, Private-Sector-Led Economy

    Wafik Grais, 04 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    In recent decades and with mixed results, Egypt has been grappling with the challenges of emerging as a modern, private-sector-led economy with affordable and effective social protection for vulnerable groups. The country has transformed its business environment to become more business friendly, tried to achieve sustainability in its macro balances, sought to increase its economic and employment growth performance, and achieved a degree of openness to international trade. The remaining road to travel may be difficult, but the transformation to a modern, private-sector-led, inclusive...Read More

  • Public and Corporate Governance in Egypt

    Wafik Grais, 04 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    Before the events of 2011, Egypt had a presidential constitutional regime with a two-chamber parliament and an independent judiciary. It allowed for a multiparty polity where competition was supposed to prevail. However, existing registered parties were perceived as ineffective at providing an alternative way. The Muslim Brotherhood operated unofficially. The then-National Democratic Party (NDP) was the leading political organization, generally towing the official line. Between 2011 and mid-2013, the transition in the country’s governance was confusing without a clear sequencing. It...Read More

  • A Snapshot of Egypt’s Financial System

    Wafik Grais, 04 Mar 2015  |  0 Comments
    Egypt’s financial system has undergone significant reforms since 2005. While important progress has been made, further work is needed for it to play an effective role in the country’s socioeconomic development. .   From 2000 to 2010, regulatory and supervisory arrangements fostered stability and vibrancy. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) ensures the banking system's safety and soundness and conducts the country’s monetary, credit, and banking policies. Nonbanking financial activity is under the purview of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), a public...Read More

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