Inclusion and Resilience

24
Figure 19 Beneficiary Incidence of Nonsubsidy SSNs, Middle East and North Africa
Relative to Other Regions
SSN beneficiaries, %
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Jordan 2010
West Bank & Gaza 2009
Egypt, Arab Rep. 2009
Yemen, Rep. 2005
Africa, this figure stands at only 12 percent, far below the other regions. This suggests
that the benefit generosity of SSNs in the Middle East and North Africa can
be increased without triggering significant work disincentives.
Most nonsubsidy SSNs in the Middle East and North Africa have a negligible effect
on poverty and inequality. The most important indicator of SSN effectiveness
is the impact on poverty and inequality. This indicator combines the separate forces
of coverage, targeting, and generosity of SSN programs to assess the overall effect of
the presence of SSNs on the welfare distribution of the country. With the exception
of West Bank and Gaza and Jordan, the region’s SSNs have little effect on poverty
rates, as estimated though a simulation of poverty in the absence of SSNs (see figure
21, panel A). SSN presence in Egypt, Iraq, and the Republic of Yemen reduces poverty
rates in these countries by at most 3 percent. SSNs in the Middle East and North
Africa perform better in terms of poverty impact than SSNs in East Asia, but much
worse than the world average or in Europe and Central Asia and Latin America and
the Caribbean. Notably, West Bank and Gaza’s SSNs have a higher impact on poverty
than the best-performing region (Europe and Central Asia).
The Way Forward for Social Safety Nets in the Middle East and North Africa
Morocco 2010
Djibouti 2002
Iraq 2007
Poorest quintile
Mid. East & N. Africa
World
Richest quintile
Sources: Middle East and North Africa: Authors’ calculations based on national household surveys. Other regions: World Bank 2012a.
Note: SSN = social safety net. All regional averages are population-weighted.
E. Asia & Pacific
Eur. & Cent. Asia
L. Amer. & the Caribbean