| December 2008 - A new World Bank report, Global Economic Prospects (GEP) 2009, examines the impact of the financial crisis on GDP growth across the world, which has dimmed short-term prospects for developing countries. About GEP According to the GEP, next year oil prices are expected to average about $75 a barrel and food prices worldwide are expected to decline by 23 percent compared with their average in 2008. GEP recommends several measures that could reduce the chance of another food price crisis. These include discouraging export bans, providing more stable funding for food-aid agencies, and improving the coordination and information about global food stocks.
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More on commodities  Maghreb countries growth in 2008 Among the more-diversified economies, growth in Morocco recouped sharply to 6.2 percent in 2008 from the drought-inflicted 2.7 percent outturn of 2007. Vigor in nonagricultural sectors, especially in telecommunications, financial services, and construction, has driven growth. Policies to control domestic prices - food and fuel subsidies, temporary waivers on customs duties for cereals, and actions to fight price speculation - have helped maintain overall inflation at relatively low levels compared with many countries in the region. But subsidies have tripled in two years, reaching close to 6 percent of GDP in 2008.
Data In Tunisia, GDP eased to 5.1 percent growth in 2008, from 6.3 percent in 2007, largely because of deterioration in the external environment, in particular the economic slowdown in the EU. Remaining import tariffs on EU goods were dismantled in January within the framework of the EU-Tunisia Association Agreement, and steps have been taken in the financial sector to reduce unsound and nonperforming loans by improving credit risk appraisals. Over the first seven months of 2008, foreign direct investment (FDI) Â in industry increased 47.2 percent, widening from the earlier focus of FDI in tourism.
Data Among the region’s oil exporters, Algeria experienced a fillip to growth in 2008, to 4.9 percent from 3.1 in 2007, as gains continued at a rapid 6 percent clip in the non-oil sector, notably in construction and services linked to infrastructure projects (table A8). Algeria stands in fair stead to weather financial spillovers from the global crisis; at end-September 2008, reserves stood at $140 billion, up $30 billion from end- 2007.
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