ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND GOVERNANCE IN THE ARAB REGION — A REVIEW OF RECENT LITERATURE TO PRIORITIZE POLICY CHALLENGES

Abstract

The “Arab Spring” drew attention worldwide to the dire socio-economic conditions in many Arab countries. Efforts to explain, address and resolve these challenges led to a surge in both academic research as well as a plethora of policy recommendations from very different perspectives. By focusing on a crucial area for employment and growth in the Arab region — economic governance and entrepreneurship — the present paper consolidates the vast research and policy recommendations available based on a ‘best evidence’ approach and identifies three priority policy challenges to facilitate entrepreneurship: competition policy, access to finance and entrepreneurial education. We argue that improvement of economic governance tailored to improve these policy areas is a crucial lever for promoting entrepreneurship and creating employment in Arab countries. Highlighting interdependences between these areas, we derive a set of recommendations for each of the identified policy challenges.