Social Policy In The Arab World

This book examines social policy in Muslim countries across the world and the status and role of Islamic teachings in such policies. It fills a gap in the literature by reviewing and comparing the experience of several Muslim countries from across the world. The existing social policy literature lacks a comprehensive appraisal of the social policy scene in Muslim societies, especially from a comparative perspective. This book will be of interest to a wide audience in the academic and policy forums related to and interested in Muslim societies and communities.

This publication sets out an analysis of social policies in Arab countries, and other countries at different stages of development (including Canada and Norway, Malaysia and Tunisia) selected for comparative purposes, in order to identify effective integrated policy approaches. Issues discussed include: the meaning of social policy and societal development; social policy in the context of values, ideologies and structures; specific issues such as economic and political development, poverty and inequality, education and health, the status of women and environmental issues; and policy models.

This book presents a state of the art in the developing field of social policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It offers an up-to-date conceptual analysis of social policy programmes and discourses in the MENA region by critically reviewing the range of social insurance and social assistance schemes that are currently in existence there. It also analyses and offers suggestions on which of these policies can positively impact the region’s advancement in terms of human development and in addressing social and economic inequalities and exclusion.

This book provides political and economic perspectives on social policy and its evolution in countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Chapters on Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia analyze its origins in populist or modernizing state activities, its decline in the era of neoliberalism and prospects for its renewal in a democratizing and development context. This book uniquely provides historical and comparative data and a gender analysis of social policy that will be of relevance to specialists in social policy, development and the Middle East.

This book, first published in 1986, examines the literature on administration, human resources and development in the Arab world. It emphasizes contemporary societies and their internal dynamics, the least known and most critical aspects of Arabic studies.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com. Public Policy in the Arab World dissects the layered social, economic, and governance issues that define the Middle East and Northern African (MENA) region. Paying special attention to the Arab Spring protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, this insightful book takes an interdisciplinary approach to examining governance capacity, legitimacy, and the challenges encountered in crisis response.

The papers presented in this volume edited by Taher H. Kanaan - the eighth in a series of seminars sponsored by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the IMF, and the World Bank - explore the relationship between economic reforms, growth, employment, and social sector performance. Topics discussed include the political and social dimensions of policies privatization in the social sectors, social safety nets, poverty and the poor, and women, poverty, and population growth.