Front Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Executive Summary -- Overview -- A Framework for SSN Reform -- Key Challenges That Call for Renewed SSNs -- The Current State of SSNs in the Middle East and North Africa -- The Political Economy of SSN Reforms in the Middle East and North Africa: What Do Citizens Want? -- The Way Forward: How to Make Safety Nets in the Middle East and North Africa More Effective and Innovative -- Notes -- References -- 1 The Framework for Social Safety Net Reform in the Middle East and North Africa -- The Growing Need for Safety Nets -- Key Objectives and Results of Effective SSNs -- References -- 2 The Challenge: Poverty, Exclusion, and Vulnerability to Shocks -- Introduction -- Poverty and Lack of Access to Services -- Vulnerability to Poverty -- Social Exclusion -- Conclusions -- Annex 2A Demographic Statistics and Poverty Incidence in the Middle East and North Africa, Selected Countries, c. 2006-10 -- Notes -- References -- 3 The Current State of Social Safety Nets in the Middle East and North Africa -- Introduction -- Data and Methodology -- Spending on SSNs -- Performance of SSNs, Excluding Subsidies -- Performance of Subsidies as SSNs -- Conclusions -- Annex 3A Additional Figures and Tables -- Annex 3B Methodological Annex -- Notes -- References -- 4 The Political Economy of SSN Reforms in the Middle East and North Africa: What Do Citizens Want? -- Introduction -- Demand for Redistribution among Citizens of the Middle East and North Africa -- Citizens' Regard for Existing SSN Systems -- Satisfaction with Existing SSN Programs -- Subsidy Reforms: Acceptance and Options -- What Works? International Experience of SSN Reforms That Increased Acceptability -- Annex 4A MENA SPEAKS Questionnaire -- Annex 4B Methodology of MENA SPEAKS Surveys and Jordan Gives Experiment.

Annex 4C Public Awareness of SSN Programs and Subsidies -- Annex 4D Determinants of Redistribution Preferences among Jordan's Middle Class -- Annex 4E Determinants of Perceiving High Inequality -- Annex 4F Effects of Perceptions about Corruption, Inequality, and Deteriorating Economic Situations on the Evaluation of SSN Effectiveness -- Notes -- References -- 5 The Way Forward: How to Make Safety Nets in the Middle East and North Africa More Effective and Innovative -- Introduction -- A Path toward Effective and Innovative SSNs -- The Way Forward -- Notes -- References -- Appendix A: Description of the Data Used for the Micro-Analysis -- Appendix B: Nonsubsidy SSN Programs Included in Household Survey Assessment -- Appendix C: SSN Programs in MENA SSN Inventory -- Boxes -- Figures -- Tables -- Back Cover.

The report aims to meet two broad objectives: (a) enhance knowledge about the current state of existing social safety nets (SSNs) and assess their effectiveness in responding to new and emerging challenges to the poor and vulnerable in the region by bringing together new evidence, data, and country-specific analysis; and (b) open up and inform a debate on feasible policy options to make SSNs in the Middle East and North Africa more effective and innovative. The first chapter, 'a framework for SSN reform,' describes and illustrates the reasons for the region's growing need for SSN reform and establishes the framework for renewed SSNs. It identifies key goals for SSNs (promoting social inclusion, livelihood, and resilience) and illustrates how these goals have been achieved in some parts of the region and elsewhere. The second chapter, 'key challenges that call for renewed SSNs,' analyzes the challenges facing the region's poor and vulnerable households, which SSNs could focus on as a priority. Two large groups are at higher-than-average poverty risk: children and those who live in rural or lagging areas. The third chapter, 'the current state of SSNs in the Middle East and North Africa,' analyzes SSN spending and assesses different aspects of the SSN systems' performance. The fourth chapter, 'the political economy of SSN reforms in the Middle East and North Africa: what do citizens want?' presents new evidence on citizens' preferences concerning redistribution and SSN design, using newly collected data. It also discusses how political economy considerations could be taken into account in designing renewed SSNs in the region. The fifth chapter, 'the way forward: how to make safety nets in the Middle East and North Africa more effective and innovative,' proposes an agenda for reform and the path for moving forward, using global experience and the

evidence presented in the preceding chapters.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.