This publication is a joint effort of the OECD, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It was prepared to advocate for effective forward-looking policies in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries that create resilience while considering their possible impact on formalisation.
At the OECD, the report was developed by the OECD Global Relations and Cooperation Directorate (GRC), under the direction of Mr Andreas Schaal, Director. The publication team included Ms Mariarosa Lunati, Mr Roger Forés Carrion, and Ms Sara Grubanov-Boskovic, with technical support from Mr Vojtěch Obuškevič. Mr Carlos Conde, Head of the Middle East and Africa Division of GRC, provided advice and insightful views throughout the process.
At the ILO, the publication team included Dr Maha Kattaa and Ms Nathalie Both. Technical inputs and support were provided by following staff: Ms Aya Jaffar, Ms Florence Bonnet, Ms Vicky Leung, Mr Jad Yassin, Mr Mohammed Abdelameer, Mr Vitalii El-Dani, Ms Amaal Bani Awaad, Mr Wisam Al bahadili, Mr Marwan Tawfiq. Mr Peter Rademaker, the Deputy Regional Director of ILO Regional Office in Arab States, provided guidance to the development of this collaboration on informality.
At the UNDP, the publication team included Dr Shireen AlAzzawi, Dr Walid Merouani, Mr Akbar Durrani, Ms Nicoleta Ghisu, and Dr Vito Intini. Ms Khalida Bouzar, former Assistant Secretary-General of the UNDP, promoted the development of the joint collaboration on informality. The team wishes to thank Ms Rania Tarazi, Gender team leader, Regional Bureau for Arab States, who was the lead reviewer within the UNDP.
The publication is the result of a collaborative research process. Several stakeholders with expertise on informality in MENA countries contributed providing advice and comments to draft versions of the report. The publication team expresses its sincere gratitude to: Dr Ahmed Kamaly and Dr Hanan Nazier, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Egypt; Dr Raafat Abbas, Ms Ishrak Elsisy and Ms Marwa Abd El Tawab, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, Egypt; Mr Raed Jabbar, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Iraq; Dr Mohammed Hakim, Prime Minister’s Office, Iraq; Dr Hadram. Mr Al-Fayez, Ministry of Planning, Jordan; Mr Mahmoud Maaytah, Social Security Corporation, Jordan; Mr Lotfi Fradi, Ministry of Development and International Cooperation, Tunisia.
Thanks are likewise due to the participants to the ILO-OECD-UNDP Workshop Addressing Informality in the MENA Region in Times of Shocks, held at the OECD Istanbul Centre in November 2022, who shared their knowledge on the challenges facing workers and enterprises in the informal economy and the hurdles associated with related policymaking in the MENA region.
The report benefited from feedback from peer reviewers: Ms Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, World Bank; Prof. Jacques Charmes, Centre Population and Développement and IRD, France; Prof. Philippe Adair, Université Paris-Est Créteil, France; Prof. Salvatore Capasso, University of Naples Parthenope and Institute for Studies on Mediterranean Economies-CNR, Italy.
The team wishes to thank experts from within the OECD who also reviewed the report. Mr Alexander Böhmer, Head of the South Asia–Southeast Asia Division, and Mr José Antonio Ardavín, Head of the Latin America and the Caribbean Division of the Global Relations and Cooperation Directorate, were the report’s lead reviewers. Valuable comments and suggestions were provided by Ms Ania Thiemann and Mr Jin Yosuke of the Economics Department; and Mr Bert Brys, Ms Mariona Mas Montserrat, and Mr Daniel Fichmann of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.