Assessing Inclusive Growth in the Middle East and North Africa

August 18, 2023

In this interview, Taline Koranchelian, the Deputy Director at the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Middle East and Central Asia Department, shares her insights on the region's progress in achieving inclusive growth over the past decade. She discusses successful approaches, challenges encountered, and highlights the key remaining gaps that need to be adressed.

Speakers
Taline Koranchelian
Deputy Director in the Middle East and Central Asia Department, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Taline Koranchelian is the Deputy Director in the Middle East and Central Asia Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where she oversees the regional work of the department as well as the IMF’s work in Algeria, Djibouti, Iraq, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen.Prior to her appointment as Deputy Director in the Middle East and Central Asia Department, Koranchelian was Director of the IMF’s Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center since June 2016. Between 2012 and 2016, Koranchelian was Assistant Director of the IMF’s Strategy, Policy, and Review, leading the IMF surveillance policy and reviewing the work of the IMF for around 30 countries across all regions.Throughout her more than 15 years of experience at the IMF, Koranchelian has held various posi ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    Inácio F. Araújo
    Geoffrey J.D. Hewings
    March 6, 2026
    By mapping Iraq’s economic structure in detail, the Multiregional Social Accounting Matrix (MRSAM) sheds light on regional interdependencies and distributional dynamics, offering a critical foundation for evidence-based policy design. Key MessagesIraq is dependent on oil, but this dependence is felt unevenly. In 2013, oil accounted for nearly half of GDP, over 90% of exports, and almost all fiscal revenues, but less than 2% of jobs; benefits from oil were concentrated in Basra ...
  • Authors
    February 13, 2026
    On January 27, 2026, the Spanish government adopted a Royal Decree for the extraordinary regularization of persons in an irregular administrative situation or involved in an international protection procedure. The choice of a royal decree allows for the rapid implementation of the measure, without the need for parliamentary debate, in a political context that is highly polarized on migration issues.Regularization applies to people who can prove their presence on Spanish territory be ...
  • Authors
    February 13, 2026
    Le 27 janvier 2026, le gouvernement espagnol a adopté par décret royal une mesure de régularisation extraordinaire visant les personnes en situation administrative irrégulière ou engagées dans une procédure de protection internationale. Le choix du décret royal permet une mise en œuvre rapide de la mesure, sans passage par un débat parlementaire, dans un contexte politique fortement polarisé sur les questions migratoires.La régularisation concerne les personnes pouvant justifier d’u ...
  • Authors
    January 23, 2026
    Introduction: COP30 as a Test of Reality, Not AmbitionCOP30 in Belém was never going to be a breakthrough. In a world marked by fiscal exhaustion, geopolitical rivalry, and eroding trust in multilateralism, expecting transformational climate cooperation bordered on denial. The choice of the Amazon as host carried symbolic weight, but symbolism does not override power, interests, or institutional capacity.The outcome of COP30 confirms a deeper truth: the global climate regime has ent ...
  • Authors
    November 28, 2025
    The adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 on November 17, 2025, endorsing the “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” is a step in the right direction, but it must be accompanied by the implementation of a Gaza development and post-conflict reconstruction program. Paragraph 6 of Resolution 2803 “calls upon the World Bank and other financial institutions to facilitate and provide financial resources to support the reconstruction and development of Ga ...
  • Authors
    October 28, 2025
    Now that a cease-fire is in place, it is time to consider Gaza’s reconstruction. This will be the fifth such effort in less than twenty years. Lessons from the previous four indicate that rebuilding houses, bridges, and roads is relatively straightforward. Far more challenging is building a thriving Gazan economy and society—one where young people live with dignity, have jobs, feel heard and included in their communities, and are hopeful about their future. Achieving this requires n ...
  • Authors
    September 2, 2025
    This paper argues that the Middle East has become the crucible of twenty-first-century imperial politics, exposing the collapse of legal universality and the resurgence of coercive empire. Through the archetypes of Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, it analyzes how states invoke law rhetorically while practicing domination through siege, spectacle, and exclusion.The United States, China, Türkiye, Israel, Iran, the European Union, and the Gulf monarchies all oscillate between Hammurabian ...
  • Authors
    Zakaria Elouaourti
    August 7, 2025
    This paper was originally published on tandfonline.comYouth’s life paths have become increasingly challenging, especially for those classified as ‘Not in Education, Employment, or Training’ (NEET), who comprise 31.2% of North Africa’s youth population. This paper contributes to the growing discourse on the NEET phenomenon by exploring its structural and psychosocial dimensions in North Africa, with a specific focus on gender. Using a rich micro-level dataset of 7,815 individuals age ...
  • Authors
    July 24, 2025
    This Paper was originally published on ilo.org A guide by the Mainstreaming Employment into Trade and Investment in the Southern Mediterranean (METI) Programme to advise policymakers on how to develop and implement trade, investment and employment.The PRG is a strategic framework designed to align trade and investment policies with employment goals in the Southern Mediterranean. The guide promotes practical solutions and supports policies that foster economic growth, empow ...