Middle East and Central Asia > Jordan

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Ms. Inutu Lukonga
Policy makers in the MENAP region have been formulating policies and designing programs to develop small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with a view to create jobs and achieve inclusive growth. But while the programs have helped increase the number of enterprises, growth of SMEs continues to face barriers to growth. As a result, microenterprises predominate and SMEs contribution to employment remains below potential. Partial implementation of reforms explain some of the underperformance, but frictions in strategy design also played an important role. Sustaining current reforms is, therefore, not sufficient to achieve inclusive growth. Digital technologies have potential to boost SMEs productivity and growth and economies are rapidly digitalizing, thus SMEs need to embrace digital solutions to compete and survive. Therefore, for SMEs to be effective engines of inclusive growth, a rethinking of the SME development strategy is needed that makes SMEs’ digital transformation a priority.
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.
International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept.
This Technical Assistance report on Jordan discusses that financial system of Jordan is dominated by other depository corporations (ODC), which constitute around 63 percent of the financial system’s assets. The technical assistance mission delivered objectives and agreed with the authorities on an action plan to improve the country’s monetary statistics. Some progress has been made in the Central Bank trial accounts regarding the sectorization and classification of the financial instruments. The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) has made substantive progress in improving human resource skills among staff. The accounting principles are found to be broadly in line with the methodology of the IMF with some departures related to market valuation. The accounting and valuation methodology implemented by the ODCs in Jordan are broadly in line with the recommended compilation practices identified in the Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide. Considering the change in the source data since 2014, the mission re-mapped the source data, using data from the aggregated balance sheet of the banking sector and the accompanying schedules through a bridge table. The mission built a time series for all the required data and created a tool linking the data to the Standardized report forms. The tool provides CBJ staff with a simpler method for data compilation.
Hirut Wolde
and
Ms. Rina Bhattacharya
In this paper we estimate gravity models to see whether trade volumes of countries in the MENA region are significantly lower than what would be expected given their economic, cultural and geographical characteristics. Our empirical results show that the variables used in standard gravity models cannot explain a significant part of MENA's trade performance, particularly on exports. We then go on to 'augment' the standard gravity model with relevant variables from the World Bank's Business Enterprise surveys. Our results further show that these variables, and in particular transport constraints and inefficiencies in customs clearance processes, are important in explaining the MENA region's underperformance in trade.
International Monetary Fund
In recent years, the IMF has released a growing number of reports and other documents covering economic and financial developments and trends in member countries. Each report, prepared by a staff team after discussions with government officials, is published at the option of the member country.