المستخلص: |
The events that have taken place in the Arab world since beginning of 2011, have demonstrated that the socioeconomic and political status quo are no longer tenable in the region. It has had profound impact on the Arab economies; in particular, the fiscal space that was limited before the "Arab Spring" is now even more constrained in a number of countries. This paper assesses the impact on fiscal space, before discussing the potential for financing social protection package to reduce vulnerability and downward mobility in the short term. Then, the paper proposes a new typology of the Arab countries based on two dimensions, namely fiscal space and human development challenges in order to discuss the potential for creating fiscal space to address the long-term underlying demands of the "Arab Spring" for a developmental transformation. In conclusion, we find that, in the post-"Arab Spring" context, the role of regional financial assistance might be more important than ever.
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