"Countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), like other developing countries, are being transformed under the forces of globalization. The old economic models and strategies have been questioned and largely abandoned. New socio-economic relations are being forged, but no coherent vision and strategy of development is yet in place. Since the 1980s, and in the co-called post oil-boom era, most countries in the region have been facing a crisis of integration in the global economy. In the large and growing literature on economic reforming the MENA region, social policy has often taken a back seat. It is treated as a residual, or an afterthought to economic reform, in the shape of safety nets or safeguards to reintegrate the marginalized groups who are dislocated by the reform process. In contrast, this book shows that gender-sensitive social policy is likely to play a critical role both in the resolution of social conflicts during the present transition period, and in the formation and long-term functioning of the new economic systems that are taking shape. This volume brings 'social' back as a central theme in the analysis of economic reform in the MENA region."--Jacket.

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