Promoting Economic Growth
 Entrepreneur Sreen Abu Saif runs a small web design and hosting business in Amman, Jordan. Thanks to a USAID-backed loan guarantee program, she can now expand her business. Overall, the program is expected to generate $5 million in private sector credit to Jordan’s small- and medium-sized businesses. (Photo: Essa Dahdal) MIDDLE EAST BUREAU ECONOMIC GROWTH PROGRAMS
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, West Bank/Gaza and Yemen
CONTACTS
Michael Blackman
Chief Economist
Tel: (202) 712-4103
Email: mblackman@usaid.gov
James Walker
Senior Economist
Tel: (202) 712-4043
Email: jwalker@usaid.gov
William Butterfield
Economist
Tel: (202) 712-1489
Email:wbutterfield@usaid.gov
Overview
In the
Middle East and North Africa, more than 25 percent of working-age young people
are unemployed. This high rate of unemployment is largely the result of slow
economic growth. Slow growth, in turn, is caused by poor economic institutions,
limited access to technology and low rates of investment. USAID implements economic
growth programs in the Middle East region to help overcome these problems. Economic
growth is a key U.S. foreign policy goal for the region.
Programs
Building Strong Economic Policies and Institutions
Inefficient policies, weak institutions and corruption
hamper growth in the region. USAID works with governments to improve business
laws; reform banks,
ministries and other institutions; and strengthen fiscal and monetary policies.
Recognizing that economic growth requires effective public sector
organizations, USAID launched a regional activity to identify, analyze and
diagnose factors that negatively impact service delivery by national-level
ministries and institutions. In Iraq, USAID has worked with national governmental
agencies to help build Iraqi governing capacity, particularly at the Central
Bank and Ministry of Finance. USAID’s assistance to the Ministry of Finance has
included the design and placement of a Financial Management Information System
to track its budget and expenses.
Investing in Trade, Technology and Agriculture
Increased trade and information and communication technology
(ICT) benefit both the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. USAID
supports trade agreements as well as laws that help companies become more
competitive internationally. USAID also works to enhance trade capacity in the Middle East, reducing
the number of days required to import and export. USAID
has been assisting Morocco and Jordan to benefit from their free trade
agreements with the United States and to comply with World Trade Organization agreements.
In Egypt, USAID is establishing the legal and regulatory framework for
efficient ICT.
Increasing Access to Credit
Access to credit is minimal in most of the region, making it
difficult to start and expand businesses. Many USAID programs focus on the
banking and legal systems to help make credit more readily available to private
businesses. This is especially important for micro, small and medium businesses,
which create jobs and income for the poor. In Morocco, programs to reform
financial markets have focused on financing for small businesses. For example,
to facilitate increased access to credit using moveable property as collateral,
a modern electronic collateral registry is being developed to make reliable
up-to-date lien information available to banks and other small-business lenders.
Back to Top ^
|
