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Protecting the Poor and Vulnerable in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and West Bank and Gaza
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| Design and Implementation Issues of Selected Safety Net and Unemployment Assistance Instruments - Amman, Jordan, June 4-7, 2007 |
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Constructing irrigation pipes
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Economic growth that creates good jobs is a critical challenge for the countries of the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). While nominal GDP has grown in several countries of the region recently due largely to oil revenues, achieving diversified growth that generates jobs for the younger generation remains difficult. The challenge of job creation in MENA requires a comprehensive approach to reform that deals with both labor markets and product markets. However, implementing such a reform agenda is not without short-term costs. Labor market reforms may imply increases in unemployment as firms reskill. Freeing prices will improve productive capacity and the development of the private sector, but may negatively impact the poor and vulnerable segments of society in the short run. Policies must be in place that protect the vulnerable and help them manage the risks they face as economies adjust and the benefits of reform are realized. 
Computer training
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The four-day conference was designed to provide policy-makers with the opportunity to examine the role that social safety nets, as well as income assistance policies and programmes, can play in facilitating reform and protecting the vulnerable. This conference consisted of plenary sessions, panel discussions and roundtables among MENA policy makers and their Bank counterparts as well as other international or regional organizations. Case studies were employed to help focus the discussions and identify areas of commonality with countries in the region. The conference was organized along three main themes: - A. The Rationale for Economic Reform: Creating a Climate for Job Creation;
- B. Social Safety Nets: Implementing Reform and Protecting the Most Vulnerable;
- C. Assistance for the Unemployed: Supporting Job Creation and Protecting Livelihoods
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