IMF report: Years of war, refugee flight have wrecked Middle East economies
Burden of refugees, displaced persons largely borne on the shoulders of poor countries, says World Bank research
The IMF report said that war-struck countries could also struggle with high inflation even as government spending collapses. PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON:
The Middle East economies have plunged into decline in the years of war since the Arab Spring, creating daunting economic and development challenges, according to an IMF report released Friday.
Nose-diving growth, soaring fiscal imbalances and decimated labour markets across the region call for newly concerted efforts from donor countries and coordination among humanitarian aid groups and development bodies, said the report, released ahead of a United Nations summit on the refugee crisis.
The International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that while the world’s attention had been drawn to the humanitarian impact of wars, economic disasters were also unfolding.
“Much of the productive capital in conflict zones has been destroyed, personal wealth and income losses are enormous, and human capital deteriorates with the lack of jobs and education,” she wrote in a blog post accompanying the report.
The UN General Assembly on Monday is due to hold a high-level summit to coordinate international responses to the refugee and migration crisis.
The IMF report followed Thursday’s release of World Bank research which said the burden of large numbers of refugees and displaced persons was largely borne on the shoulders of poor countries, a fact that likewise called for coordination between humanitarian and development aid policies.
“To varying degrees, these countries face large numbers of refugees, weak confidence and security and declining social cohesion that undermines the quality of institutions and their ability to undertake much-needed economic reforms,” the IMF report said.
In a sobering analysis, it laid out the economic costs of war for countries plagued by the conflict:
After four years of civil war, Syria’s GDP has fallen by more than half, Yemen’s economy contracted by 25-35% last year alone while Libya saw its economic activity fall by 24% in 2014.
War damage to Syria’s physical capital amounts to $137.8 billion, or 230% of pre-war GDP, the report said, and, with 470,000 killed, 6.6 million displaced and 5 million having fled, the country has lost about 50% of its population.
The strains on governance, state revenues and state institutions such as central banks are profound: Preliminary data indicate that Yemen, for example, missed its 2015 revenue targets by as much as 60%.
The policy temptations for governments in such situations can also be harmful; pressed by dwindling revenues, states can be tempted to control exchange rates, and bias rules and taxation in favour of friends and against foes.
The IMF report said that war-struck countries could also struggle with high inflation even as government spending collapses.
Meanwhile, the public services are deteriorating with even neighbouring countries heavily impacted.
Lebanon, For example, has enrolled half the Syrian refugee population’s children in its schools, swelling classroom sizes and reducing the quality of education.
All of this called for change, the report said; “more humanitarian aid and joining of forces between relief work and development assistance.”
In the near-term, funding has not kept pace with needs as UN agencies have had cut services to the refugee populations in Jordan.
But preventing poverty from rising in host countries is a pressing need, according to the report, which requires investing in public infrastructure to create economic opportunities for the populations of the region.
If and when peace comes, reconstruction will require “sizable financing” largely surpassing damaged and indebted countries’ ability to collect revenues.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2016.
The Middle East economies have plunged into decline in the years of war since the Arab Spring, creating daunting economic and development challenges, according to an IMF report released Friday.
Nose-diving growth, soaring fiscal imbalances and decimated labour markets across the region call for newly concerted efforts from donor countries and coordination among humanitarian aid groups and development bodies, said the report, released ahead of a United Nations summit on the refugee crisis.
The International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that while the world’s attention had been drawn to the humanitarian impact of wars, economic disasters were also unfolding.
“Much of the productive capital in conflict zones has been destroyed, personal wealth and income losses are enormous, and human capital deteriorates with the lack of jobs and education,” she wrote in a blog post accompanying the report.
The UN General Assembly on Monday is due to hold a high-level summit to coordinate international responses to the refugee and migration crisis.
The IMF report followed Thursday’s release of World Bank research which said the burden of large numbers of refugees and displaced persons was largely borne on the shoulders of poor countries, a fact that likewise called for coordination between humanitarian and development aid policies.
“To varying degrees, these countries face large numbers of refugees, weak confidence and security and declining social cohesion that undermines the quality of institutions and their ability to undertake much-needed economic reforms,” the IMF report said.
In a sobering analysis, it laid out the economic costs of war for countries plagued by the conflict:
After four years of civil war, Syria’s GDP has fallen by more than half, Yemen’s economy contracted by 25-35% last year alone while Libya saw its economic activity fall by 24% in 2014.
War damage to Syria’s physical capital amounts to $137.8 billion, or 230% of pre-war GDP, the report said, and, with 470,000 killed, 6.6 million displaced and 5 million having fled, the country has lost about 50% of its population.
The strains on governance, state revenues and state institutions such as central banks are profound: Preliminary data indicate that Yemen, for example, missed its 2015 revenue targets by as much as 60%.
The policy temptations for governments in such situations can also be harmful; pressed by dwindling revenues, states can be tempted to control exchange rates, and bias rules and taxation in favour of friends and against foes.
The IMF report said that war-struck countries could also struggle with high inflation even as government spending collapses.
Meanwhile, the public services are deteriorating with even neighbouring countries heavily impacted.
Lebanon, For example, has enrolled half the Syrian refugee population’s children in its schools, swelling classroom sizes and reducing the quality of education.
All of this called for change, the report said; “more humanitarian aid and joining of forces between relief work and development assistance.”
In the near-term, funding has not kept pace with needs as UN agencies have had cut services to the refugee populations in Jordan.
But preventing poverty from rising in host countries is a pressing need, according to the report, which requires investing in public infrastructure to create economic opportunities for the populations of the region.
If and when peace comes, reconstruction will require “sizable financing” largely surpassing damaged and indebted countries’ ability to collect revenues.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2016.