Rethinking Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa: The Missing Dimensions

Djavad Salehi-Isfahani

Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 2013, vol. 14, issue 3, 341-370

Abstract: In this paper I review the state of human development in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and its evolution in the past four decades. I highlight the following salient characteristics of MENA economies that shape human development in the region: high income from hydrocarbon exports, which drive a wedge between individual productivity and consumption; demographic factors, such as delayed fertility transition and rapid growth of the youth population; imbalances in the labor markets, evidenced by high rates of youth unemployment and low participation of women in the labor market; high investment in schooling but with low productivity of education; and imbalance in marriage markets resulting in delayed marriage. I argue that these regional characteristics affect welfare and human development in MENA countries deeply but in ways that are not easily captured by standard human development measurement.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2013.764851

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