2017年-世界发展银行全球_Towards_Privilege-Resistant_Economic_Policies_in_MENA___Shielding_Policies_from_Privileges_and_Discretion_188页_2mb

Middle East and North Africa: Towards Privilege-Resistant Economic Policies

Core Content

This report, part of the World Bank's work in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, focuses on the design and implementation of economic policies that are resistant to capture, discretion, and arbitrary enforcement. It is motivated by the need to renew the social contract, which is a key pillar of the World Bank's strategy for the region. The goal is to foster a new development model that promotes trust, openness, transparency, inclusive and accountable service delivery, and a stronger private sector capable of generating jobs and opportunities for the region's youth.

Main Viewpoints

• Privilege and Capture: The report identifies that weak job creation and insufficient private sector dynamism in the MENA region are often due to formal and informal barriers to entry and competition. These barriers favor a few politically connected firms, leading to inefficient resource allocation, reduced innovation, and lower productivity.
• Policy Design and Implementation: The success of private sector development policies depends not only on the policies themselves but also on how they are designed and implemented. The report argues that effective policy implementation is essential for creating a fair and competitive environment.
• Power Asymmetry: The World Development Report (WDR) 2017 provides a conceptual framework that highlights how power asymmetries in society—such as those found in authoritarian and oligarchic systems—can lead to governance failures like capture, clientelism, and exclusion.
• Operational Focus: Rather than focusing solely on the political economy context, the report emphasizes the need to identify concrete, actionable policy entry points that can help reduce opportunities for privilege and capture. It moves the debate towards a more operational and measurable framework.

Key Information

Policy Areas Analyzed

The report evaluates several key policy areas that influence the private sector and economic performance, including:

• Citizen Engagement in Policy Formulation
• Trade and Customs
• Business Regulation Practices
• Public Procurement
• Allocation of Public Land
• Investment Incentives
• Access to Finance
• Competition Policy
• Conflict of Interest Restrictions
• Financial Disclosure
• Freedom of Information

Conceptual and Operational Framework

• The report introduces a new conceptual framework that identifies governance features capable of shielding economic policies from capture, discretion, and arbitrary enforcement.
• It proposes a checklist of policy features across various areas, focusing on both de jure (formal) and de facto (actual) dimensions of governance.
• The report also introduces country dashboards as a measurement tool to assess the vulnerability of each country to privilege-seeking in policy areas.

Findings and Recommendations

• The report benchmarks eight MENA countries using the proposed framework and checklist, identifying policy gaps and poor governance features that make them prone to capture and discretion.
• It emphasizes the importance of systemic measurement to ensure that governance features are monitored and improved.
• The report argues that even in the absence of major political changes, incremental reforms can lead to significant improvements in the policy environment, especially during critical junctures such as political transitions, economic crises, or technological advancements.
• It highlights the need to work with the grain of the existing political economy, focusing on technical and institutional changes that are feasible and can lead to better outcomes over time.

Operational Agenda

The report outlines an operational agenda for improving governance and reducing the impact of privilege in the private sector. This includes:

• Developing a framework that encapsulates governance features to shield policies from capture.
• Creating a checklist of policy features for selected areas of private sector development.
• Benchmarking countries based on the presence of these features.
• Offering operational guidance on how to move forward with reform efforts.

Limitations

• The report does not provide additional analytical evidence on the constraints to private sector growth.
• It does not measure the actual levels of capture, clientelism, exclusion, discretion, arbitrariness, or corruption.
• It does not aim to provide evidence on the broader political economy ecosystem or the channels of influence within it.

Conclusion

By focusing on the design and implementation of policies, the report provides a practical and actionable approach to addressing privilege and capture in the MENA region. It bridges the gap between analytical studies and operational reforms, offering a comprehensive set of tools and insights for policymakers to improve governance and promote inclusive economic growth.