Khalid Abu-Ismail (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia)

The Event was organised by the London Middle East Institute (LMEI) and the Department of Economics, SOAS

Abstract:

Before the 2010 upheaval, the Arab region achieved some degree of progress on basic human development. But it was unable even then to significantly advance decent employment or productivity. After 2010, the region has confronted multiple social and economic problems. The decline in oil prices has exerted fiscal pressures even on oil-rich exporting countries.

The UNESCWA Report on fiscal policies for structural transformation and human development in Arab countries focuses on the fiscal policy responses by Arab countries to their worsening conditions since 2010. Its central argument is that ‘business-as-usual’ governance systems and economic policies cannot address the region’s multiple and growing challenges. Instead, the answer lies in a mixture of good economic governance and fiscal policies that can induce more rapid economic growth along with structural transformation. Only then could jobs, especially jobs at decent wages, be created at a scale sufficient for sustained poverty reduction and human development.

Speaker biography:

Khalid Abu-Ismail is a Chief of Economic Development and Poverty Section, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA). His research is on topics related to Economic Development, Poverty and Human Development, Macroeconomic Policy, Inequality and International Migration. He received his Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from New School for Social Research, New York. Abu-Ismail is affiliated with the Faculty of Economics at the Lebanese American University.

Speaker(s): Khalid Abu-Ismail (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia), Terry McKinley (SOAS)

Organiser: London Middle East Institute (LMEI) and the Department of Economics, SOAS

Event Date:

26 October 2017

Released by:

SOAS Economics Podcast