"This pamphlet hopes to contribute to the understanding of the economic challenges and opportunities facing the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, subject to three qualifications. First, it attempts to cover a large geographical area comprising countries of differing economic characteristics, experience, and potential. Second, it does not analyze each country individually and, by seeking predominant characteristics and trends and providing a generalized framework for detailed country analyses, indulges in unavoidable generalization. Third, analysis in the pamphlet is hindered by data limitations, as well as by the usual problems associated with cross-country comparisons and aggregation."--Preface
