The impact of the financial and economic crisis On Arab states: considerations on employment and social protection policy responses

Subject

Although the global financial and economic crisis has not spared the Arab states of the Middle East, its impact to date has been relatively limited to some parts of the region. However, by and large, for the time being, the Arab world is relatively well-positioned to cope with some of the more immediate challenges that a world in economic turmoil poses in the short run. This is due to several reasons: (i) over the past years, the GCC region benefited from windfall incomes derived from high commodity prices; (ii) GCC countries managed their financial assets fairly prudently; and (iii) beyond exporting commodities, Arab economies are rather weakly integrated into the global economy. This policy note is purely intended to provide an assessment of the employment and social protection impact, and to suggest appropriate policy responses.