Despite the existence of a voluminous body of literature covering the impact of infrastructure public-private partnerships (PPPs) on public value within the context of Western countries, scant attention has been paid to this topic in the Middle East. Given that the region has hosted numerous PPP projects that were implemented even without the rudimentary legal and regulatory frameworks considered essential for such projects to succeed, a study of PPPs within that region would thus be particularly useful, since an unpacking of the success factors for PPPs in the Middle East can reveal important practical insights that will advance the knowledge of PPP success factors overall. This paper, therefore, explores the rehabilitation and expansion of Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport via the PPP route. It finds that the factors contributing to the project’s successful implementation can be categorized into those on the macro level related to political support, and the micro level factors concerned with management of daily activities involved in the partnership between the public and private sectors.

This paper argues for a novel approach to financing infrastructure needs in Arab countries. It first describes the context of rising public debt in the region, contrasting it with the vast infrastructure needs. It then discusses the challenges in meeting these needs with traditional financing. The paper then makes the case for maximizing finance for development by using public-private partnerships and presents a few successful examples in Arab countries. Finally, the paper explores the way forward and concludes on the need for strong state capacity and integrity to promote the “maximizing finance for development” approach.

Urban regeneration and gentrification are complex, interconnected processes that significantly shape cities. However, these phenomena in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are often understudied and typically viewed through a Western lens. This systematic review of literature from 2010 to 2024 addresses this gap by synthesizing a comprehensive framework for understanding urban regeneration-led gentrification in MENA countries. The review delves into key themes: Gentrification contexts, the regeneration process, gentrification accelerators, and the aftermath of gentrification. It explores the diverse motives behind urban regeneration, identifies key stakeholders, and analyzes catalysts of gentrification. Findings reveal that informal areas and deteriorated heritage sites in major cities are most susceptible to gentrification. The study also highlights the critical issue of insufficient community participation and proposes a participation evaluation framework. The unique socioeconomic and political factors driving gentrification in the MENA region underscore the necessity of context-specific approaches, facilitating the identification of regional similarities and differences. Conclusively, the review asserts that gentrification is a cyclic process, necessitating core interventions through enhanced regeneration strategies or displacement plans to mitigate its effects.

This paper provides a concise historical analysis of the political economy of privatization in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia from the 1980s to 2007, a period that witnessed the emergence of privatization as a primary policy tool to reform the public sector. The paper examines the influence of political history, macroeconomic considerations, and International Development Agencies (IDAs) on the early privatization processes in these North African countries. Despite shared developmental trajectories, internal and external factors had a significant impact on the outcomes of economic liberalization. The paper aims to answer the following key questions: What were the underlying political-economic factors driving privatization, and how successful was it in achieving the promised economic growth? Through a focused analysis of each country’s contextual factors, privatization processes, and outcomes, the paper contributes valuable insights into the nuanced dynamics shaping privatization in developing countries.