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New POMED Policy Brief: Rethinking Development Assistance in the Middle East

In the latest POMED policy brief, CIPE Executive Director John Sullivan explores the impact of the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) in the wake of the dramatic events in the Middle East. Click here for the full text, and click here to sign up to receive future briefs via email.

The QDDR highlights the need for development assistance that focuses on institutional reforms. Recent unrest in the Middle East makes it clear that, given the rising number of youth and the growing importance of the middle class, the region’s rulers must move beyond superficial reforms to build inclusive political and economic systems. Sullivan argues that the United States must support efforts to build democracies that deliver by addressing the underlying structures and practices within both governments and economies. U.S. development assistance should encourage the simplification of laws and regulations to reduce economic informality and the establishment of transparent institutions to address the political roots of corruption. The large number of unemployed youth in the region also requires governments, with U.S. support, to loosen labor market regulations and to reform the education system so that the private sector can become a strong alternative for young graduates seeking jobs.

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