The world's attention to the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has often been dominated by headline issues: conflict, sanctions, political turmoil, and rising oil prices. Little of this international attention has considered the broad range of development challenges facing this diverse group of countries. Breaking the Barriers reflects the collected thinking of the World Bank's Office of the Chief Economist for the MENA Region on the long-term development challenges facing the region and the reform priorities and strategies for effectively meeting these challenges. It.

For a long time, economic research on Africa was not seen as a profitable venture intellectually or professionally-few researchers in top-ranked institutions around the world chose to become experts in the field. This was understandable: the reputation of Africa-centered economic research was not enhanced by the well-known limitations of economic data across the continent. Moreover, development economics itself was not always fashionable, and the broader discipline of economics has had its ups and downs, and has been undergoing a major identity crisis because it failed to predict the Great Recession. Times have changed: many leading researchers-including a few Nobel laureates-have taken the subject of Africa and economics seriously enough to devote their expertise and creativity to it. They have been amply rewarded: the richness, complexities, and subtleties of African societies, civilizations, rationalities, and ways of living, have helped renew the humanities and the social sciences-and economics in particular-to the point that the continent has become the next major intellectual frontier to researchers from around the world. In collecting some of the most authoritative statements about the science of economics and its concepts in the African context, this lhandbook (the first of two volumes) opens up the diverse acuity of commentary on exciting topics, and in the process challenges and stimulates the quest for knowledge. Wide-ranging in its scope, themes, language, and approaches, this volume explores, examines, and assesses economic thinking on Africa, and Africa's contribution to the discipline. The editors bring a set of powerful resources to this endeavor, most notably a team of internationally-renowned economists whose diverse viewpoints are complemented by the perspectives of philosophers, political scientists, and anthropologists.

Leading economist John B. Taylor’s straightforward plan to rebuild America’s economic future by returning to its founding principles. Mired in a crippling economic slump and hamstrung by partisan political debates, America faces substantial economic challenges, from widespread unemployment to the government’s ballooning debt. These assaults on our prosperity reflect the unintended consequences of more than a decade of government intervention in virtually all areas of the economy. Stanford University economist John B. Taylor proposes a natural and reasonable solution to our economic challenges: return to the country’s founding principles—limited government, rule of law, strong incentives, reliance on markets, a predictable policy framework—and rekindle its economic dynamism.

Characterised by conceptual diversity, the Handbook of Globalisation and Development presents contributions from prominent international researchers on all aspects of globalisation and carefully considers their role across a whole host of development processes. The Handbook is structured around seven key areas: international trade, international production, international finance, migration, foreign aid, a broader view, and challenges. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, the section on ‘a broader view’ delves into dimensions of globalisation and development that go beyond the mere economic, such as: culture, technology, health, and poverty. Carefully crafted, the chapters herein offer a rigorous and comprehensive assessment of the available research to date and provide an assessment of policy options across all areas considered.

One of the major tools of attaining proper development all around the world is creating wealth and economic inclusion, such that all classes of people can secure their lifestyles through access to financial services from formal sectors. Expanding access to resources and increasing self-employment opportunities help reduce poverty and improve social development. Wealth Creation and Poverty Reduction: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice examines trends, challenges, issues, and strategies related to the creation of livelihood options through the redistribution of resources, foreign aid, private sector activities, and other methods. Highlighting a range of topics such as microfinance, poverty alleviation, and socio-economic development, this publication is an ideal reference source for government officials, policymakers, executives, economists, analysts, researchers, academicians, professionals, and students interested in wealth creation in areas of extreme poverty.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck the global economy after a decade that featured a broad-based slowdown in productivity growth. Global Productivity: Trends, Drivers, and Policies presents the first comprehensive analysis of the evolution and drivers of productivity growth, examines the effects of COVID-19 on productivity, and discusses a wide range of policies needed to rekindle productivity growth. The book also provides a far-reaching data set of multiple measures of productivity for up to 164 advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies, and it introduces a new sectoral database of productivity. The World Bank has created an extraordinary book on productivity, covering a large group of countries and using a wide variety of data sources. There is an emphasis on emerging and developing economies, whereas the prior literature has concentrated on developed economies. The book seeks to understand growth patterns and quantify the role of (among other things) the reallocation of factors, technological change, and the impact of natural disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is must-reading for specialists in emerging economies but also provides deep insights for anyone interested in economic growth and productivity. Martin Neil Baily Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Former Chair, U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers This is an important book at a critical time. As the book notes, global productivity growth had already been slowing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and collapses with the pandemic. If we want an effective recovery, we have to understand what was driving these long-run trends. The book presents a novel global approach to examining the levels, growth rates, and drivers of productivity growth. For anyone wanting to understand or influence productivity growth, this is an essential read. Nicholas Bloom William D. Eberle Professor of Economics, Stanford University The COVID-19 pandemic hit a global economy that was already struggling with an adverse pre-existing condition—slow productivity growth. This extraordinarily valuable and timely book brings considerable new evidence that shows the broad-based, long-standing nature of the slowdown. It is comprehensive, with an exceptional focus on emerging market and developing economies. Importantly, it shows how severe disasters (of which COVID-19 is just the latest) typically harm productivity. There are no silver bullets, but the book suggests sensible strategies to improve growth prospects. John Fernald Schroders Chaired Professor of European Competitiveness and Reform and Professor of Economics, INSEAD

The second edition of this innovative and affordable book integrates environmental and financial sustainability into its distinctive regional approach. By focusing on political economy in its cultural, religious and historical roots, as well as leadership decisions, it spurs critical thinking. Working through the unique development paths of individual countries, the authors foster integrative thinking and a strong sense of realism about both the prospects and challenges of economic development in the rapidly evolving global economy. The book is exceptional in both its theoretical nuance and accessible writing. An Instructors Manual with discussion questions, a test bank, and PowerPoint slides is available online to professors who adopt the text.

Why have South-East Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam been so successful in reducing levels of absolute poverty, while in African countries like Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, despite recent economic growth, most people are still almost as poor as they were half a century ago? This book presents a simple, radical explanation for the great divergence in development performance between Asia and Africa: the absence in most parts of Africa, and the presence in Asia, of serious developmental intent on the part of national political leaders.

A central premise is that an objective and universally‐accepted measure of “success” in development and paths to it does not exist.