What Will It Take for Jordan to Grow?

Tim O'Brien (), Thảo-Nguyên Bùi, Ermal Frasheri (), Fernando Garcia, Eric S. M. Protzer (), Ricardo Villasmil and Ricardo Hausmann
Additional contact information
Tim O'Brien: Center for International Development at Harvard University
Ermal Frasheri: Center for International Development at Harvard University
Eric S. M. Protzer: Center for Global Development
Ricardo Villasmil: Harvard's Growth Lab

No 411, CID Working Papers from Center for International Development at Harvard University

Abstract: This report aims to answer the critical but difficult question: "What will it take for Jordan to grow?" Though Jordan has numerous active growth and reform strategies in place, they do not clearly answer this fundamental question. The Jordanian economy has experienced more than a decade of slow growth. Per capita income today is lower than it was prior to the Global Financial Crisis as Jordan has experienced a refugee-driven population increase. Jordan’s comparative advantages have narrowed over time as external shocks and responses to these shocks have changed the productive structure of Jordan’s economy. This was a problem well before the country faced the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jordanian economy has lost productivity, market access, and, critically, the ability to afford high levels of imports as a share of GDP. Significant efforts toward fiscal consolidation have further constrained aggregate demand, which has slowed non-tradable activity and the ability of the economy to create jobs. Labor market outcomes have worsened over time and are especially bad for women and youth. Looking ahead, this report identifies clear and significant opportunities for Jordan to strengthen new engines of export growth that would enable better overall job creation and resilience, even amidst the continued unpredictability of the pandemic. This report argues that there is need for a paradigm shift in Jordan’s growth strategy to focus more direct attention and resources on activating “agents of change” to accelerate the emergence of key growth opportunities, and that there are novel roles that donor countries can play in support of this.

Keywords: COVID-19; Growth Diagnostics; Trade; FDI; Green Growth; Inclusive Growth; Jordan; Telework; Structural Transformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara
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Working Paper: What Will It Take for Jordan to Grow? (2022)
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