Edward Elgar Publishing Private Sector and Enterprise Development: Fostering Growth in the Middle East and North Africa

Product Description `Stevenson's book provides a through review for a diverse and complex region with a practical guide for policy makers to respond to the high unemployment and low productivity challenges facing the 12 countries covered in the analysis. Moreover, Stevenson advocates how to encourage a missing entrepreneurial spirit that is crucial to expand the private sector role. Written in a smooth style, it is a must read for academics, students and policy makers to understand the dynamics of the private-public sector relations. It is also useful to donor communities to help set their priorities in a regional context.' - Ibrahim Saif, Secretary General, Economic and Social Council of Jordan This important and well-researched book examines the challenges to private sector growth in twelve Middle East and North African (MENA) countries, assessing comparative performance against a number of indicators and focussing on the special role of SMEs and entrepreneurial activity. Lois Stevenson highlights the variation among countries in private sector dynamism and performance, the major government policy initiatives supporting private sector and SME activity in each country, and the perspectives of government officials, researchers, and other stakeholders on research, policy and institutional capacity needs. The author concludes with a framework for guiding a comprehensive set of policies and strategies to unleash the potential of entrepreneurship as a platform for future private sector growth. Private Sector and Enterprise Development will be an invaluable resource for the policymaking, research and donor communities, stakeholders involved in building capacity in PSD and SME policy development, and scholars interested in entrepreneurship and development in the MENA region. Review ‘Stevenson’s book is valuable for the amount of information it has on the current economic situation in the MENA region. It sheds much light on the economic policies in place there and on the various economic problems that the region is facing and will face in the future.’ -- Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy ‘. . . this book is a very timely contribution to economic and private sector development (PSD) policies in the MENA countries, and a condensed and comprehensive resource for donor and development agencies.’ -- Donor Committee for Enterprise Development ‘Stevenson’s book provides a through review for a diverse and complex region with a practical guide for policy makers to respond to the high unemployment and low productivity challenges facing the 12 countries covered in the analysis. Moreover, Stevenson advocates how to encourage a missing entrepreneurial spirit that is crucial to expand the private sector role. Written in a smooth style, it is a must read for academics, students and policy makers to understand the dynamics of the private–public sector relations. It is also useful to donor communities to help set their priorities in a regional context.’ -- Ibrahim Saif, Secretary General, Economic and Social Council of Jordan About the Author Lois Stevenson, Visiting Research Fellow, International Development Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt