“Development is not only about incomes and wealth. It is also about the broader quality of life: having educational opportunities, access to quality healthcare and clean water, equality of treatment and the freedom to participate in the governance process,” said Christiaan Poortman, World Bank Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa, at the launch of the Better Governance for Development in the Middle East and North Africa report. “Good governance is essential to secure these values, because it ensures that state authority is exercised in ways that respect the integrity, rights and needs of everyone in the country.”

Governments in MENA have sought to provide a broad range of public goods, achieving significant results in recent years. Examples include that of Lebanon, which raised the rate of childhood immunization from virtually none to more than 90 percent in one decade.

“Gains of the last decades in basic services are being threatened by weaknesses in inclusiveness,” cautioned Mustapha Nabli, Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa region at the World Bank. “Pressures from rising populations, increasing urbanization and growing complexity of modern public services have strained the coverage of many public services, creating gender inequities and urban-rural gaps in literacy and other social indicators.”

Some countries in the region have made strides towards greater transparency, the report notes. Iran publishes its full national budget and televises its parliamentary debates for instance, like some other countries in the region. The media is also contributing to the public debate on government accountability in countries like Iran and Algeria, and is particularly vocal in Lebanon. Satellite televisions are playing an increasingly important role in transmitting information across previously impenetrable borders.

But in general, MENA countries exhibit a pattern of limited and reluctant transparency. Of all the regions, it has the least amount of data on issues relating to governance to show for. None of the region's countries assures citizens the right to government information. Local media are carefully monitored and controlled in most countries, stifling public debate. And although countries like Bahrain and Morocco have recently strengthened parliaments, accountability mechanisms in the region consistently continue to be weak because of excessive concentration of power in the executive authority and limited channels for citizen participation.

The lack of inclusion and transparency is in turn taking a toll on the regions economic performance. Productivity has been on the decline in MENA for three decades. Average annual per capita growth for the region stands at 0.9 percent since 1980, less than that of sub-Saharan Africa.

By international standards overall, the countries of the region fare poorly: the MENA region ranks at the bottom in terms of overall governance quality when compared with countries with similar characteristics in East Asia, Eastern Europe or Latin America, as well as with other developing countries.

Studies have shown that if MENA had matched the average quality of public administration of strong performers in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, the region's growth rates would have been higher by about one percentage point a year. These growth rates would in turn have translated into a doubling of average income per person.

“There is clearly a strong economic rationale for MENA countries to embrace good governance,” stressed Charles Humphreys, Lead Economist at the World Bank and lead author of the report. “The quality of governance helps shape the quality of policy formulation and implementation, which in turn determines whether there is effective delivery of public services and an attractive business environment for investors.”

Good governance is central to the solution of generating economic growth in the region, the Bank says, calling for both governments and the citizens of the region to commit to a program to enhance governance. Yet, the authors warn that the process will not be an easy one.

“Meeting the governance challenge is no simple matter, either technically or institutionally,” warned Humphreys. “Moving towards greater inclusiveness and accountability requires time, because it involves changing traditions and confronting privileged interests. It requires tolerance of compromises and mistakes, while the institutions required for good governance, especially those of citizen participation, gain capacity and credibility. But there are ample grounds for optimism, stemming from experience both globally and within the region.”

Useful links: For more information on the World Bank's activities in Middle East and North Africa, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/mna

World Bank Regional Vice-President for the Middle East and North Africa Christian Poortman

Mustapha Nabli, Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa region at the World Bank

Charles Humphreys, Lead Economist at the World Bank and lead author of the report