Oecd Public Governance Reviews Youth At The Centre Of Government Action A Review Of The Middle East And North Africa

Young people have demonstrated resilience to shocks and led positive change in their communities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Young people (aged under 30) constitute more than half (55%) of the population across MENA, compared with 36% of the population across OECD countries.

Young people have demonstrated resilience to shocks and led positive change in their communities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Young people (aged under 30) constitute more than half (55%) of the population across MENA, compared with 36% of the population across OECD countries. While challenges vary significantly across the region, youth unemployment rates are among the highest in the world, young people tend to express low trust in public institutions, and nearly four in ten live in fragile and conflicted-affected areas. The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the need to place the needs of young people at the centre of an inclusive and resilient recovery. To support this process, this report analyses current governance arrangements and practices across 10 MENA governments in three areas: 1) uniting all government stakeholders to implement a shared, integrated youth policy and deliver services to young people; 2) building administrative and institutional capacities to mainstream the perspectives of young people in policy making; and 3) encouraging the participation and representation of young people and youth stakeholders in public and political life.

Young people have demonstrated resilience to shocks and led positive change in their communities across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Young people (aged under 30) constitute more than half (55%) of the population across MENA, compared with 36% of the population across OECD countries. While challenges vary significantly across the region, youth unemployment rates are among the highest in the world, young people tend to express low trust in public institutions, and nearly four in ten live in fragile and conflicted-affected areas. The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the need to place the needs of young people at the centre of an inclusive and resilient recovery. To support this process, this report analyses current governance arrangements and practices across 10 MENA governments in three areas: 1) uniting all government stakeholders to implement a shared, integrated youth policy and deliver services to young people; 2) building administrative and institutional capacities to mainstream the perspectives of young people in policy making; and 3) encouraging the participation and representation of young people and youth stakeholders in public and political life.

This report applies a “youth lens” to public governance arrangements in the MENA region, providing recommendations for governments to readjust the existing legal, institutional and policy arrangements to make youth a partner in the formulation and implementation of public policies and services.

This report offers a perspective on the progress made in public management in the MENA region since 2005.

In the face of what has increasingly been referred to as an ongoing “permacrisis”, governments must cope with and respond to emerging threats while already grappling with longstanding issues such as climate change, digital disruption and low levels of trust. In this context, understanding new approaches and spreading successful ideas has never been more important.

The report Informality and Structural Transformation in the Middle east and North Africa outlines a framework for assessing the impact of economic and social policies on informality. The framework was developed jointly by the ILO, OECD and UNDP, and is thought as a hands-on instrument, allowing policy makers to foresee early on in the policymaking cycles the effects diverse economic and social policies could have on the informal economy.

With a share of 36%, youth (aged 12-30) represent more than one-third of the total population in Jordan. This report provides an analysis of the governance arrangements put in place by the Government of Jordan to deliver youth-responsive policy outcomes with a focus on five areas.

Growth has rebounded from the pandemic and the energy crisis, despite the 2023 earthquake and droughts. Morocco has benefitted from a stable macroeconomic regime and the deficit is narrowing following the pandemic and energy crisis with the government debt ratio is around 70% of GDP. Morocco has embarked on major reforms to encourage investment and to extend health insurance and social protection, but a stronger convergence path will be needed to achieve the vision in the New Development Model. Morocco’s labour productivity gap with the frontier remains large, although it has narrowed. FDI flows have been strong, but domestic private investment is low, and Moroccan firms face obstacles in performing better. Morocco’s young population is an asset, but the labour market suffers from high youth unemployment and low female employment. Emigration is significant. Widespread informality leads to low wages, poor-quality jobs and weak skills. Morocco has made an ambitious commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2010 and to net zero by 2050, benefiting from the country’s potential for renewables-based generation. The country is vulnerable to climate change and already faces significant water stress. SPECIAL FEATURES: BOOSTING INVESTMENT, FIRM PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTIVITY; CREATING MORE AND BETTER JOBS