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Middle East and Central Asia > Jordan

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 19 items for :

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Cover IMF Working Papers
Digitalization and Resilience: Firm-level Evidence During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Nordine Abidi
,
Mehdi El Herradi
, and
Sahra Sakha
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented shock to firms with adverse consequences for existing productive capacities. At the same time, digitalization has increasingly been touted as a key pathway for mitigating economic losses from the pandemic, and we expect firms facing digital constraints to be less resilient to supply shocks. This paper uses firm-level data to investigate whether digitally-enabled firms have been able to mitigate economic losses arising from the pandemic better than digitally-constrained firms in the Middle East and Central Asia region using a difference-in-differences approach. Controlling for demand conditions, we find that digitally-enabled firms faced a lower decline in sales by about 4 percentage points during the pandemic compared to digitally-constrained firms, suggesting that digitalization acted as a hedge during the pandemic. Against this backdrop, our results suggest that policymakers need to close the digital gap and accelerate firms’ digital transformation. This will be essential for economies to bounce back from the pandemic, and build the foundations for future resilience.
Keywords:
COVID-19; digitalization; technology adoption; economic resilience; Middle East and Central Asia; digitally-enabled firm; digitally-constrained firm; firms in the Middle East; firm-level data; digital transformation; Digitalization; Financial inclusion; Foreign corporations; Asia and Pacific; Africa; Middle East; North Africa
Cover Policy Papers
Enhancing the Role of SMEs in the Arab World—Some Key Considerations
Vahram Stepanyan
,
Gohar Abajyan
,
Anta Ndoye
, and
Ms. Marwa Alnasaa
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a cornerstone of Arab economies, accounting for over 90 percent of all businesses and providing a major source of new job creation. Governments across the Arab World recognize the important role that SMEs can play in delivering higher and more inclusive growth. Many have rightly placed SME development at the center of growth and jobs strategies to meet the needs of young populations. Authorities have initiated policy interventions and schemes to support SME development. But progress so far has been patchy, and more comprehensive policy action is needed. Fostering vibrant and competitive SMEs that contribute to employment opportunities and high value-added output requires various stakeholders to deliver on a broad range of factors. Arab governments need a holistic policy approach that addresses the gaps in access to finance, creates an enabling business environment, and upgrades human capital and infrastructure. The approach should also promote an entrepreneurial mindset.
Keywords:
PP; SME development; SME support scheme; control group SMES; SME policy; SME sector; SME activity; SME constraint; SME access; SME data availability; SME needs; Small and medium enterprises; Self-employment; Business environment; Financial inclusion; Public sector; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Jordan: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This paper discusses the Syrian Refugee Crisis (SRC) and conflicts in Syria and Iraq have weighed on investor sentiment, tourism, and exports but the influx of Syrians is likely to have increased aggregate demand. Labor market conditions deteriorated after the massive influx of refugees and nontradable prices accelerated. The balance of payment suffered pressures on the non-oil current account, owing to lower exports of goods and services and higher imports. The SRC has increased the direct fiscal costs persistently by above one percent of GDP, which could double after counting for quality and capital deterioration. The negative impact is decreasing as the influx of Syrian refugees slowed and the stock pushed up aggregate demand. The influx of more than 10 percent of Jordan’s original population may have certainly increased consumption, particularly, over time as the incomers settled and the likelihood of returning to their home country diminishes. Unemployment grew the most in governorates that host most of the refugees.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; Jordan; cost; price; GDP; tax; private sector institution; oil price; SSIF asset portfolio; resource restriction; IMF commodity price; Payroll tax; Financial inclusion; Employment; Labor markets; Tariffs; Global; Middle East; Central Asia; Europe; Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Macroprudential Policy and Financial Stability in the Arab Region
Mr. Ananthakrishnan Prasad
,
Heba Abdel Monem
, and
Pilar Garcia Martinez
Several characteristics of the structure of the Arab economies, their economic policy framework, and their banking systems make macroprudential policy a particular relevant tool. For most oil exporters, heavy reliance on the extractive sector for generating fiscal revenues and export earnings translates into increased vulnerabilities to oil price shocks. In the case of oil importers, relatively small external and fiscal buffers make them highly vulnerable to shocks. This paper discusses the experience of Arab countries in implementing macroprudential policies and contains recommendations to strengthen their macroprudential framework.
Keywords:
WP; capital market; banking sector; legal reserve; price index; liquidity window; market cap; private sector; Macroprudential policy; systemic risk; credit; financial stability; a number of central banks; supervisory function; countries central banks; liquidity level; monetary policy independence; liquidity regulation; capital market authority; FX loan; Financial sector stability; Macroprudential policy instruments; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Monetary Policy in the Presence of Islamic Banking
Mariam El Hamiani Khatat
This paper discusses key issues related to the conduct of monetary policy in countries that have Islamic banks. It describes the macrofinancial background and monetary policy frameworks where Islamic banks typically operate, and discusses the monetary transmission mechanism in economies where Islamic and conventional banking coexist. Most economies with Islamic banks also have conventional banks and this calls for a comprehensive approach to monetary policy. At the same time, a dual approach to monetary policy should be considered whenever the Islamic segment of the financial system is not as developed as the conventional one. The paper tries to shed light on potential spillovers between conventional and Islamic financial systems, and proposes specific recommendations on the design of Islamic monetary policy operations and for facilitating monetary transmission through the Islamic financial system.
Keywords:
WP; monetary policy; bank; market; financial system; exchange rate; Islamic banks; dual financial systems; monetary transmission mechanism; monetary operations; Sukuk markets; lender of last resort; monetary policy framework; monetary policy transmission; transmission mechanism; government securities market; bank lending channel; funding cost; banks competition; Islamic banking; Interbank markets; Liquidity management; Liquidity; Monetary policy frameworks; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Saudi Arabia: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Selected Issues paper assesses the importance of oil and interest rate spillovers for Saudi Arabia. Oil prices have fallen by more than 40 percent since mid-2014 while the Federal Reserve is expected in the coming months to begin raising its policy rate at the beginning of a gradual tightening cycle. Given the importance of oil to the economy and the peg of the riyal to the U.S. dollar, these are two key developments for Saudi Arabia. Although a temporary drop in oil prices would likely have little effect on the economy and banks given the financial cushions that have been built-up, a longer-lasting period of low oil prices would have a more significant impact.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; price; oil price; private sector; government spending; equity price; energy price; NPL ratio; price reform; Energy prices; Oil prices; Fuel prices; Labor markets; Electricity; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Basel Capital Requirements and Credit Crunch in the MENA Region
Samy Ben Naceur
and
Ms. Magda E. Kandil
The 1988 Basel I Accord set the common requirements of bank capital to promote the soundness and stability of the international banking system. The agreement required banks to hold capital in proportion to their perceived credit risks, and this requirement may have caused a “credit crunch,” a significant reduction in the supply of credit. We investigate the direct link between the implementation of the Basel I Accord and lending activities, using a data set spanning annual observations covering 1989–2004 for banks in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. The results provide clear support for a significant increase in credit growth following the implementation of capital regulations, in general. Despite higher capital adequacy ratios, banks expanded credit and asset growth. Credit growth appears to be driven by demand fluctuations attributed to real growth, cost of borrowing, and exchange rate risk. Overall, the effects of macroeconomic variables, in contrast to capital adequacy, appear to be more dominant in determining credit growth, regardless of the capital adequacy ratio, and regardless of variation across banks by nationality, ownership, and listing.
Keywords:
WP; capital regulation; government securities; banking sector; interest rate; capital requirement; credit crunch; Basel I Accord; lending behaviour; panel data models; bank regulator; investment strategy; bank shrinkage; bank-borrower relationship; bank portfolio; bank capital; loan-asset ratio; capital base; banks' holding; bank capital requirement; Capital adequacy requirements; Credit; Commercial banks; Loans; Basel Core Principles; Middle East; North Africa; East Africa
Cover IEO Annual Report 2012
IEO Annual Report 2012
International Monetary Fund. Independent Evaluation Office

Abstract

This Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) Annual Report 2012 presents an overview of overall developments in FY2012. In FY2012, the IEO expended approximately 97 percent of its total budgetary resources, including the approved budget amount and the resources carried forward from FY2011 as authorized. Vacancies amounted to about one and one-half staff years over the course of the financial year. This level of vacancies is within the range of what could be expected in a small organization with structural difficulties in recruitment and retention.

Keywords:
IEOR; IEO; evaluation; IEO expenditure; IMF research; IEO evaluation; IMF surveillance; Board-endorsed IEO recommendation; IMF performance; Budget planning and preparation; Macrofinancial linkages; International reserves; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa; Central America; Africa; Caribbean; IEO recommendation
Cover IMF Working Papers
What Drives the Performance of Selected MENA Banks? A Meta-Frontier Analysis
Samy Ben Naceur
,
Barbara Casu
, and
Hichem Ben-Khedhiri
This study examines the effect of financial-sector reform on bank performance in selected Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries in the period 1994 -2008. We evaluate bank efficiency in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon and Tunisia by means of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and we employ a meta-frontier approach to calculate efficiency scores in a cross-country setting. We then employ a second-stage regression to investigate the impact of institutional, financial, and bank specific variables on bank efficiency. Overall, the analysis shows that, despite similarities in the process of financial reforms undertaken in the five MENA countries, the observed efficiency levels of banks vary substantially across markets, with Morocco consistently outperforming the rest of the region.Differences in technology seem to be crucial in explaining efficiency differences. To foster banking sector performance, policies should be aimed at giving banks incentives to improve their risk management and portfolio management techniques. Improvements in the legal system and in the regulatory and supervisory bodies would also help to reduce inefficiency.
Keywords:
WP; efficiency score; technology ratio; bank efficiency; return on assets; DEA efficiency result
Cover IMF Working Papers
Slowdown of Credit Flows in Jordan in the Wake of the Global Financial Crisis: Supply or Demand Driven?
Mr. Tigran Poghosyan
This paper estimates a disequilibrium model of credit supply and demand to evaluate the relative role of these factors in the slowdown of credit flows in the Jordanian economy in the wake of the global financial crisis. The empirical analysis suggests that the credit stagnation is mainly driven by the restricted credit supply amid tighter monetary policy conditions in Jordan relative to the United States, as evidenced by the widened interest differential between the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) re-discount and the U.S. Federal Reserve funds rates. Although it appears that demand side factors related to the slowdown of economic activity have also had an impact, their role has been relatively modest. The estimation results imply that economic policies targeted towards stimulating supply of credit are likely to be a more effective tool for expanding credit flows relative to demand stimulating policies.
Keywords:
WP; credit supply; rate; Jordan; financial crisis; credit crunch; credit demand; plotted credit supply and demand series; credit supply and demand function; disequilibrium credit market model; demand equation; supply equation; Credit; Bank credit; Global financial crisis of 2008-2009; Central bank policy rate; Stock markets; Global