MENA felt the impact of the financial
and economic crisis to a much lesser extent than developed
economies and emerging markets outside Asia, however, the
economic recovery in MENA has also lacked vigor. Before the
recent uprisings, MENA was expected to return to pre-crisis
growth rates of 4.8 percent by 2011-12, but growth rates in
this range are not high enough to address the key challenges
facing the region, including high unemployment rates -

The events of the last few weeks are a
watershed for Tunisia, Egypt, and other Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) countries. The ongoing political events
will resonate regionally and globally and, if followed by
sound transitions to better governance structures, these
events provide a unique opportunity to change MENA's
political and social landscape. The root cause of the
political turmoil in MENA is fatigue with longstanding

This brief includes the following
headings: international experience; key issues; lessons
learned; recommendations; and case studies of World Bank
financed projects.

Armenia's strong economic growth
from 2001-2008, when real gross domestic product (GDP) grew
12.6 percent per year on average, boosted living standards
and created the fiscal headroom necessary for the Government
to respond to the 2009 financial crisis with a large fiscal
stimulus. As a result, the fiscal deficit reached 7.6
percent in 2009 and helped limit the contraction in real GDP
to 14 percent. With the economy growing again, the stimulus

In policy reform Advisory Services (AS)
projects the concept of 'good practices' often
floats around, not knowing when or where to land on a
'project runway.' So the question here is how and
when do you inject good practices into regulatory reforms so
they yield maximum impact? Whenever terms like
'international expert' and/or 'study
tours' are mentioned, projects become vulnerable to
criticism of wasted money and shopping sprees. The

This note outlines the challenges of
retaining and attracting high-skilled professionals, briefly
assesses both the 'brain gain' and the 'brain
drain' in the health sector, and examines some of the
existing programs that encourage return. It provides an
overview of the role of the diaspora in fostering the
transfer of knowledge, technology, capital, and remittances.

Private sector management and financing
of airports has continued to expand in developing countries.
Long-term concessions for airports are the predominant model
today, with governments often taking a minority shareholding
in the venture. Careful attention to policy design,
regulatory issues, and management of concessions will
continue to be important in ensuring that private
participation delivers efficient and effective airport

The Urban Sector Rehabilitation Project
(URSP) consisted of a large program of infrastructure
rehabilitation works and institutional reform activities
covering 8 project towns - Arusha, Iringa, Morogoro, Mbeya,
Moshi, Mwanza, Tabora and Tanga. Additional investments in
Dodoma and Dar-essalaam were, in comparison, of limited
scope and complexity. The project with a Credit of US$ 141.3
million equivalent was implemented by the government between

This note presents the main lessons
drawn from an analytical and sector work on trade logistics
in Morocco. Public and private counterparts recognized the
positive impact of the World Bank's report to catalyze
and accelerate reforms' pace and to facilitate
cooperation between public and private parties involved in
logistics reforms. A careful preparation process and a
strong buy-in from public and private stakeholders involved

Health care costs are escalating rapidly
in many countries. While many factors contribute to rising
costs, health insurance plays a part by shielding patients
and physicians from the real cost. In an effort to contain
costs, governments, employers, and insurers have modified
payment schemes and coverage, often leading to rationing and
restricted consumer choice and in some cases to denial of
care. Singapore is unique among developed countries in

Over a two-year period, beginning in
late 2004, the Nigerian federal government implemented one
of the most ambitious port concessioning programs ever
attempted. The success of this program resulted from the
government's vision and decisiveness, as well as the
need to remedy massive shortcomings in the sector, which
were sharply inhibiting economic development. But the
program also benefited strongly from policy reform

Ignoring gender in the planning and
evaluation of credit and transfer programs can lead to
erroneous conclusions about who benefits from them. Access
to institutional credit and targeted transfers can be an
important mechanism in poverty reduction, social protection,
and income redistribution programs. These formal sources of
financing, however, may undermine traditional sources of
support, such as inter-household transfers and informal