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Middle East and Central Asia > Saudi Arabia

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Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Somalia: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This Selected Issues the state of educational attainment in Somalia and explores the potential growth dividends from increasing access to education and closing gender gaps in education. Somalia experienced significant loss in human capital over two decades of civil strife. Education outcomes in Somalia are among of the lowest in the world, and even worse for women. It will be important that Somalia sets strong foundations for building its education system and expanding access to education, while mobilizing the resources to do so, with continued support from international partners. The paper recommends that Somali authorities gradually increase education spending, by mobilizing both domestic and external resources. Model estimates show that increasing education access to the level of Low Human Development countries and closing gender gaps could raise real gross domestic product by close to 40 percent over the next 25 years. Given extremely limited resources and capacity, Somalia will need to carefully prioritize policies that can deliver near-term wins as it gradually develops its public education system. Improving access and quality of education will require greater resources, supported by additional domestic revenues and sustained support from development partners.
Keywords:
satellite imagery data; EAC accession; sensor data; Somalia's integration; partner States; D. policy priority; satellite data; Pensions; Civil service; Gender inequality; Customs unions; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa; East Africa; Africa
Cover Gender Notes
Why a Gender Lens Matters: Unlocking Solutions to Macroeconomic Challenges
Lisa L Kolovich
,
Monique Newiak
,
Diego B. P. Gomes
,
Jiajia Gu
,
Vivian Malta
, and
Jorge Mondragon
As governments design policy packages to address the main macroeconomic questions of our times, putting a gender lens on macroeconomics can amplify reform impact. In this note, IMF staff’s analysis has called for attention to strengthening legal rights, gendered aspects of fiscal policy, and enhancing women’s work–life choices, including through structural reforms. Capacity development to assist member countries in their reform efforts has grown and, so far, has centered on integrating gender into public financial management systems through gender budgeting.
Keywords:
gender lens; macroeconomic policy; macro-gender tools; gender indicators; capacity development; IMF gender note; gender toolkit; IMF gender Note 2024/003; IMF staff calculation; Gender inequality; Gender diversity; Women; Labor force participation; Labor markets; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Saudi Arabia: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented economic transformation is progressing well. Strong domestic demand is keeping non-oil growth robust while unemployment is at record lows. Inflation is contained and the current account surplus is rapidly narrowing. The recalibration of the authorities’ investment plans would help reduce overheating risks and pressures on fiscal and external accounts.
Keywords:
totaling SDR; PRGT loan resource; PRGT subsidy resource; about SDR; deposit of SDR; Foreign direct investment; Oil prices; Women; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Gender Budgeting in G20 Countries
Virginia Alonso-Albarran
,
Ms. Teresa R Curristine
,
Gemma Preston
,
Alberto Soler
,
Nino Tchelishvili
, and
Sureni Weerathunga
Achieving gender equality remains a significant challenge, that has only deepened with the on-set of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender budgeting (GB) can help promote gender equality by applying a gender perspective to fiscal policies and the budget process. This paper takes stock of GB practices in G20 countries and benchmarks country performance using a GB index and data gathered from an IMF survey. All G20 countries have enacted gender focused fiscal policies but the public financial management (PFM) tools to operationalize these policies are far less established. We find that notwithstanding heterogeneity across countries, the average G20 level of GB practice is relatively low. More progress has been made establishing GB frameworks and budget preparation tools than with budget execution, monitoring and auditing. Too few countries assess the upfront impact of policies on gender and/or evaluate ex-post the effectiveness of policies and programs. Where GB features are in place, they tend to operate as an ‘add-on’, rather than a strategic and integral part of resource allocation decisions. Progress with GB does not appear to be dependent on the level of country development. Key to future efforts will be harnessing opportunities for integrating GB tools into existing PFM systems and more closely linking GB initiatives with PFM reforms.
Keywords:
G20; Gender Equality; Gender Budgeting; Public Financial Management; GB practice; GB tool; Gender budgeting (Gb; GB index; IMF Gender Budgeting approach; Gender inequality; Gender budgeting; Budget planning and preparation; Women; Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Middle East and Central Asia: A Survey of Gender Budgeting Efforts
Ms. Lisa L Kolovich
and
Sakina Shibuya
Gender budgeting uses fiscal policies to promote gender equality and women’s advancement, but is struggling to take hold in the Middle East and Central Asia. We provide an overview of two gender budgeting efforts in the region—Morocco and Afghanistan. Achievements in these two countries include increasing female primary and secondary education enrollment rates and reducing maternal mortality. But the region not only needs to use fiscal policies for women’s advancement, but also reform tax and financial laws, enforce laws that assure women’s safety in public, and change laws that prevent women from taking advantage of employment opportunities.
Keywords:
WP; national budget; government; train government personnel; child care; government measure; public finance; Gender budgeting; fiscal policy and administration; gender inequality; Middle East and Central Asia; Association Démocratique des femmes du Maroc; italicized country; ways country; GCC country; countries warrant; Morocco's gender; Women; Labor force participation; Middle East; North Africa; East Africa; Central Asia and the Caucasus
Cover IMF Working Papers
The Effects of Fiscal Policieson the Economic Development of Women in the Middle East and North Africa
Ms. Nicole Laframboise
and
Tea Trumbic
Statistics indicate that the economic and social development of women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) compares unfavorably with most regions in the world. This paper assesses the influence of government expenditure and taxation policies on the economic and social welfare of women in the region. On the expenditure side, we test the explanatory power of public social spending in the determination of key female social indicators. We find that the relatively weak social outcomes for MENA women are not explained by the amount of government social spending, suggesting the answer lies in the efficiency and reach of present spending. With respect to taxation, the main issues in the literature on gender bias in taxation are highlighted and applied in a general manner to the MENA context. Some simple policy recommendations are suggested.
Keywords:
WP; government spending; MENA woman; direct tax; MENA country; MENA spending; government social spending; social indicators; gender bias; tax-expenditure mix; MENA region; place MENA; country region; per capita income; Women; Health care spending; South Asia; Asia and Pacific; Middle East; North Africa; East Africa