Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

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to the third oil boom, which reached itsclimax between 2006 and 2008, propellingfreedoms to the increase shown over their1999 values.Arab countries included in the studyrecorded a noteworthy superiority in onecategory of the Heritage Index, and thatis fiscal freedom. This is attributable tothe low rate of taxation, and indeed itsabsence in a number of Arab countries,particularly those of the Gulf (World Bankand International Finance Corporation,2007). The lowest levels of freedomsin this index for Arab countries overallare in the categories of property rightsand freedom from corruption, both ofwhich play a vital role in the promotionof business and competitiveness and, as aresult, the enrichment of the knowledgesociety.In addition to the low rate of taxation,fiscal freedom, and the stability of themonetary system, there were some othersuccesses in the business environment inEgypt came amongthe top ten countriesenacting reforms forthe third time in fouryears, particularlyin terms of the taxsystem and the fieldof business start-upFIGURE 2-4Distribution of Economic Freedom in Arab Countries, 2009Number of Arab Countires196100-49.9 50-59.9 60-69.9 70-79.9 80-100Repressed Mostly Unfree Moderately Free Mostly Free FreeSource: Heritage Foundation, 2009FIGURE 2-5Average economic freedom index for seventeen Arab countries60.059.559.058.558.057.557.056.556.01999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Economic FreedomAverageThe Heritage Foundation, 2009ARAB KNOWLEDGE PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENTS69
TABLE 2-1Arab Countries that realised positive reforms in the field of business, 2007-2008Starting abusinessDealing withconstruction permitsEmployingworkers*RegisteringpropertyGettingcreditProtectingInvestorsPayingTaxesTradingacrossbordersEnforcingcontracts*Closing abusinessEgyptEgyptEgyptEgyptEgyptMoroccoEgyptSaudi ArabiaJordanMauritaniaUAEMoroccoSaudi ArabiaTunisiaDjiboutiLebanonTunisiaTunisiaMoroccoMauritaniaUAESyriaOmanOccupiedSaudi ArabiaPalestinianSyriaTerritoriesTunisiaOccupiedPalestinianTerritoriesYemen* No Arab country undertook positive reforms in the business domains of employment contracts enforcement.Source: World Bank and IFC (International Finance Corporation), 2007GCC countrieswere able to realisecash surplusesthanks to a rise inpetroleum revenuesAccording to somereports, there is nopositive conditionalrelationship betweenincreased oil andgas revenuesand support foreconomic freedomssome Arab countries. This was the casein Egypt, which came among the topten countries enacting reforms for thethird time in four years, particularly interms of the tax system and the field ofbusiness start-up, as well as in dealing withbuilding permits and property registration,obtaining funding, and protectinginvestors. Similarly, positive reforms in thefield of business start-up were carried outin Tunisia and Yemen, where the minimumfor capital required for that purpose wascancelled, and in Jordan, where it waslowered. It is worth mentioning thatSaudi Arabia made progress in reforms inthe field of business closure, a categorywhich included no Arab countriesbetween 2003 and 2007. These reformsinclude the introduction of declarationof bankruptcy as a means of liquidationand a market exit device, as well as areduction in the role of the courts, settingof time frames, and the maintenance oftransparency through use of the internet(World Bank, IFC, 2007).THE OIL BOOM DID NOT FOSTERECONOMIC FREEDOM ASHOPEDThe Heritage Index for 2009 shows thatthe Arab Gulf countries realised thehighest relative average for economicfreedoms among Arab countries, and thatthis happened thanks to the policy ofeconomic openness, the attraction offoreign investments, and the modernisationof the infrastructure. In addition,initiatives were undertaken that gave theprivate sector a larger, wider role in theproduction process. Member countries ofthe Gulf Cooperation Council were ableto realise cash surpluses thanks to a risein petroleum revenues (Fraser Institute,2008). However, with the exception ofQatar and Bahrain, per capita income‘averages’ witnessed a decline as a resultof the swelling demand for imports. Thisresulted in the depletion of resources thatwould have been better invested locally(World Bank, 2009).Since 2003, certain Arab oil-producingcountries (Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Oman)70 ARAB KNOWLEDGE REPORT 2009
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United Nations Development Programm
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This Report has been produced throu
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This year’s report may perhapsbes
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ICT in the Arab countries and reinf
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CONTENTSPREAMBLEIntroductionPrelimi
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Quantitative indicatorsTertiary edu
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LIST OF BOXESBox 1 The Effect of th
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Figure 5-7 Published scientific art
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Table 21 Time devoted to secondary
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The knowledgefield and revolutionto
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The literature onhuman rights place
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Arabic istechnologicallypoor in com
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Intercommunicationwith the self mea
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Table 2CountryGroupGroup 1: Oilecon
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Figure 2504540353025201510508070605
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In the period2003-2007, morethan 83
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eversion, in many cases, is not ass
Page 36 and 37: Thus the Arab region in general, an
Page 38 and 39: knowledge over recent years. This w
Page 40 and 41: However, this progress remains limi
Page 42: CHAPTER ONETHE THEORETICAL FRAMEWOR
Page 45 and 46: The successfuldeployment ofthe know
Page 47 and 48: The knowledgerevolution atthe end o
Page 49 and 50: Technology, theeconomy, andsociety,
Page 51 and 52: No one pursuesknowledge forits own
Page 53 and 54: The Report adoptsa concept ofknowle
Page 55 and 56: The goal of thiscritical review isn
Page 57 and 58: In our bidfor economicand humandeve
Page 59 and 60: The political reformproject remains
Page 61 and 62: Globalisation isdependent oninforma
Page 63 and 64: The battle overknowledge in oursoci
Page 65 and 66: The most obviousexample of the gapb
Page 67 and 68: BOX 1-9The Virtual as an Interrogat
Page 69 and 70: The upsurge intechnologicalprowess
Page 71 and 72: Collective humaneffort must bedirec
Page 73 and 74: End Notes1Epistemic saturation refe
Page 76 and 77: CHAPTER TWOARAB KNOWLEDGE PERFORMAN
Page 78 and 79: current economic crisis in the autu
Page 80 and 81: FIGURE 2-3Perceptions of corruption
Page 82 and 83: technology infrastructure, blogs ar
Page 84 and 85: nations continue to occupy their pr
Page 88 and 89: have realised a degree of progress
Page 90 and 91: FIGURE 2-8Index of global competiti
Page 92 and 93: FIGURE 2-10Net exports of manufactu
Page 94 and 95: namely the spread of poverty, socia
Page 96 and 97: TABLE 2-2Arab Countries according t
Page 98 and 99: while some of these nine countries
Page 100 and 101: and political participation. All of
Page 102 and 103: first INTEL computer club; INTELis
Page 104 and 105: from the ages of thirteen to twenty
Page 106 and 107: solutions that allow use of the ava
Page 108 and 109: to this trajectory, a consumer, not
Page 110: specific cases.These flexibilities
Page 114 and 115: CHAPTER THREEEDUCATION AND THE FORM
Page 116 and 117: FIGURE 3-1Education and human resou
Page 118 and 119: of the qualitative knowledge capita
Page 120 and 121: TABLE 3-1CountryOpportunities for b
Page 122 and 123: Virtually the only area in which Ar
Page 124 and 125: must possess if they aspire to part
Page 126 and 127: TABLE 3-2Opportunities for the form
Page 128 and 129: General secondary education andthe
Page 130 and 131: elatively high enrolment rates of b
Page 132 and 133: Available data shows large discrepa
Page 134 and 135: TABLE 3-3Comparison of overall resu
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females. According to this data, to
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show educational accomplishments am
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inroads well beyond their current f
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FIGURE 3-6aMaths performance of eig
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BOX 3-8The Contribution of Non-Publ
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Kuwait, and the worst performers su
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emained encumbered by the prevailin
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eveal the breadth of the gap that c
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countries and providing a picture o
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information systems. The available
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89Finland, for example, whose stude
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CHAPTER FOURINFORMATION AND COMMUNI
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FIGURE 4-1ICT index values for Arab
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countries and the Arab countries. T
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Arab countries-Egypt, Algeria, Leba
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of Arabic content and its low rate
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exchange of future technology servi
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of national partnerships aimed at s
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TABLE 4-2Readiness of Arab countrie
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as the implementation of programmes
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BOX 4-2Evaluating the Performance o
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of common principles that guarantee
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data from various sources and then
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FIGURE 4-11Paper consumption and in
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processing and the methods and tool
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TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEAND FUTURE INI
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within bounds that do not hinder bu
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preservation and the consolidation
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21As a result of the nature of comp
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CHAPTER FIVEARAB PERFORMANCE IN RES
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FIGURE 5-1Innovation system index f
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The extremely lowamounts spentby Ar
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It has become clearthat the wager o
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Joint researchprojects among Arabsc
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Theoretically, themore researcherst
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Average expenditureon scientific re
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BOX 5-6Jordan’s “A Professor in
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BOX 5-8For the last three decades,
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FIGURE 5-7Published scientific arti
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A review of theperiod from 2002to 2
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Social scienceresearch holds aspeci
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Most Arabic-languageperiodicals in
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Arab societies arefilled with examp
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Human capitalis among Arabcountries
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TABLE 5-12Trade in technological pr
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It is ironic thatalthough the Arabw
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End Notes1UNESCO Institute for Stat
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CHAPTER SIXBUILDING THE KNOWLEDGE S
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The most conspicuousfeature of thek
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A review of nationalplans in the Ar
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The positiveachievements inthe Arab
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One of the keyfoundations of thevis
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Freedom andinstitutionalisationare
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Priorities are subjectto a great de
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If we admit thatlanguage is avehicl
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The major challengelies in changing
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Deployment is linkedto the creation
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The variousproposals includedin thi
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ReferencesReferences in Arabic‘Ab
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the President of the ICRC Expresses
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al-Duwal al-‘Arabiyya, UNESCO’s
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Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development asF
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Castells, Manuel. (1998/2001). LaSo
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the Age of Technology).• Binsa‘
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egional and international levels an
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ANNEX 3. MEASUREMENT OF THE ARABCOU
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indicators that make up the pillar.
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countries’ rankings among the cou
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of the Arab countries and suffer fr
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Freedom House and Heritage Institut
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Endnotes* This annex was prepared b
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STATISTICAL ANNEXGENERAL INDICATORS
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Table 3: Economic IndicatorsCountry
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KNOWLEDGE PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENTST
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Table 7: Press Freedom Index in the
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EDUCATIONTable 9: Adult literacy ra
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Table 11: Gross enrolment ratios in
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Table 13: Adult illiterate populati
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Table 16: Net and gross enrolment i
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Table 18: Lessons in basic educatio
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Table 20: Literacy rates among youn
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Table 22: Evolution of enrolment ra
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Table 24: Student enrolment rates i
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Table 26: Distribution of graduates
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Table 28: Estimated educational lev
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Table 30: Enrolment rates in non-go
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RESEARCH AND INNOVATIONTable 32: Nu
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Table 34: Indicators on research an
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHN
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FIGURE b-2Growth in average number
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competition between the internet se
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Table c-4: Ranking of a group of Ar
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United Nations Development Programm
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