Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa : Beyond Trade Reform
Limited integration has stifled the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's ability to tap into its significant potential for economic growth and job creation. The MENA region is among the least integrated in the world economy. Although h...
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| Language: | English en_US |
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2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/11/17018192/regional-economic-integration-middle-east-north-africa-beyond-trade-reform http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12220 |
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okr-10986-122202021-04-23T14:02:59Z Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa : Beyond Trade Reform Rouis, Mustapha Tabor, Steven R. COMPETITIVENESS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC INTEGRATION JOB CREATION NONOIL WORLD TRADE TRADE BARRIERS TRADE IN SERVICES TRADE-RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE UNILATERAL LIBERALIZATION POLICIES Limited integration has stifled the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's ability to tap into its significant potential for economic growth and job creation. The MENA region is among the least integrated in the world economy. Although home to 5.5 percent of the world's population (on average for 2008-10) and 3.9 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), the region's share of nonoil world trade is only 1.8 percent. By contrast, countries that have opted for a liberal trade and investment regime most notably in East Asia have experienced a significant increase in trade, employment, and per capita income. If petroleum and gas are taken into consideration, the MENA region is far more integrated in the world economy, with total exports accounting for 6.2 percent of total world trade. Exports of oil and gas represent about three-quarters of MENA's total exports. This study shows that, in spite of commendable reform efforts in recent years, the MENA region continues to face constraints to economic competitiveness in general, and trade barriers in particular. Of critical importance is the need to improve trade-related infrastructure and strengthen trade facilitation activities. Moreover, this study demonstrates that preferential trade agreements (PTAs), though helpful in many respects, do not significantly expand exports. Instead, the focus in must be on opening up to the rest of the world, which may require that individual countries aggressively pursue unilateral liberalization policies. While regional cooperation and integration can bring benefits, these efforts can also pose significant costs if not carried out in a manner that is compatible with broader global integration trends. Finally, while there is reasonable potential to enhance trade in goods, trade in services is a major untapped source of trade growth within the region and between the region and the rest of the world. The main objective of this report is to assess the achievements in, opportunities for, and challenges of deeper regional economic cooperation and integration within the MENA region and between the region and the rest of the world. 2013-01-30T21:21:56Z 2013-01-30T21:21:56Z 2013-01 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/11/17018192/regional-economic-integration-middle-east-north-africa-beyond-trade-reform 978-0-8213-9726-8 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12220 English en_US Directions in development : trade; CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank Washington, DC: World Bank Publications & Research :: Publication Publications & Research :: Publication Middle East and North Africa North Africa Middle East Egypt, Arab Republic of Jordan Libya Morocco Tunisia |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
COMPETITIVENESS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC INTEGRATION JOB CREATION NONOIL WORLD TRADE TRADE BARRIERS TRADE IN SERVICES TRADE-RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE UNILATERAL LIBERALIZATION POLICIES |
| spellingShingle |
COMPETITIVENESS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC INTEGRATION JOB CREATION NONOIL WORLD TRADE TRADE BARRIERS TRADE IN SERVICES TRADE-RELATED INFRASTRUCTURE UNILATERAL LIBERALIZATION POLICIES Rouis, Mustapha Tabor, Steven R. Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa : Beyond Trade Reform |
| geographic_facet |
Middle East and North Africa North Africa Middle East Egypt, Arab Republic of Jordan Libya Morocco Tunisia |
| relation |
Directions in development : trade; |
| description |
Limited integration has stifled the
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's ability to
tap into its significant potential for economic growth and
job creation. The MENA region is among the least integrated
in the world economy. Although home to 5.5 percent of the
world's population (on average for 2008-10) and 3.9
percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP),
the region's share of nonoil world trade is only 1.8
percent. By contrast, countries that have opted for a
liberal trade and investment regime most notably in East
Asia have experienced a significant increase in trade,
employment, and per capita income. If petroleum and gas are
taken into consideration, the MENA region is far more
integrated in the world economy, with total exports
accounting for 6.2 percent of total world trade. Exports of
oil and gas represent about three-quarters of MENA's
total exports. This study shows that, in spite of
commendable reform efforts in recent years, the MENA region
continues to face constraints to economic competitiveness in
general, and trade barriers in particular. Of critical
importance is the need to improve trade-related
infrastructure and strengthen trade facilitation activities.
Moreover, this study demonstrates that preferential trade
agreements (PTAs), though helpful in many respects, do not
significantly expand exports. Instead, the focus in must be
on opening up to the rest of the world, which may require
that individual countries aggressively pursue unilateral
liberalization policies. While regional cooperation and
integration can bring benefits, these efforts can also pose
significant costs if not carried out in a manner that is
compatible with broader global integration trends. Finally,
while there is reasonable potential to enhance trade in
goods, trade in services is a major untapped source of trade
growth within the region and between the region and the rest
of the world. The main objective of this report is to assess
the achievements in, opportunities for, and challenges of
deeper regional economic cooperation and integration within
the MENA region and between the region and the rest of the world. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Publication |
| author |
Rouis, Mustapha Tabor, Steven R. |
| author_facet |
Rouis, Mustapha Tabor, Steven R. |
| author_sort |
Rouis, Mustapha |
| title |
Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa : Beyond Trade Reform |
| title_short |
Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa : Beyond Trade Reform |
| title_full |
Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa : Beyond Trade Reform |
| title_fullStr |
Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa : Beyond Trade Reform |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Regional Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa : Beyond Trade Reform |
| title_sort |
regional economic integration in the middle east and north africa : beyond trade reform |
| publisher |
Washington, DC: World Bank |
| publishDate |
2013 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/11/17018192/regional-economic-integration-middle-east-north-africa-beyond-trade-reform http://hdl.handle.net/10986/12220 |
| _version_ |
1764419227402371072 |