Why regulatory reform matters to the MENA region

In the margin of the November session of the regulatory policy committee (RPC), OECD published Regulatory Reform in the Middle East and North Africa: Implementing Regulatory Policy Principles to Foster Inclusive Growth which is the Organisation's first progress report on the implementation of OECD regulatory policy principles in the MENA region. Covering Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, and Tunisia, the report provides recommendations based on the 2009 Regional Charter for Regulatory Quality and the 2012 OECD Policy Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance.

The review reveals that an explicit regulatory policy in the MENA region is still in its infancy. The countries involved do not have an explicit regulatory policy. Systematic regulatory systems, processes and tools, such as Regulatory Impact Assessments, are also new to most governments in the region. The review concludes that further efforts are necessary to institutionalise regulatory policy and governance, for instance by implementing regular performance assessments of regulations.Improving the clarity and efficiency of regulations will benefit both citizens and enterprises and mark a crucial element in the transition process of MENA countries.

See also OECD Insights blog for a post analysing the new publication, by Moritz Ader and Miriam Allam.