Fiscal Crisis, Economic Prospects : The Imperative for Economic Cohesion in the Palestinian Territories, Economic Monitoring Report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee

World Bank

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO RESOURCES;    ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES;    AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS;    AIR;    AIR TRAVEL;   

RP-ID  :  76023

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Economic growth in West Bank and Gaza(WB&G) slowed in the first quarter (Q1) of 2012. Thereal growth rate is estimated to have reached 5.6 percent,more than three percentage points lower than the Q1 2011growth figure and almost one percent lower than the growthforecast contained in the Palestinian Authority's(PA's) budget. This decline is attributed to a majorslowdown in Gaza, where real growth decreased from 21.3percent to 6 percent on a year-on-year basis. The slowdownin Gaza during Q1 of 2012 was mainly attributed to a majordecline in the agriculture and fishing sector, which offsetmuch of the growth witnessed in other sectors. This sectorshrank by 43 percent in Q1 2012 due to frequent poweroutages resulting from the lack of fuel in Gaza.Nevertheless, other sectors in Gaza expanded and the highestgrowth levels were witnessed in the construction, and hotelsand restaurants sectors. In the West Bank, growth in Q1 2012was broadly unchanged from its 2011 level. Most of thegrowth was from an expansion of services, which contributedaround 2.2 percentage points of the 5.4 percent total growthin Q1 2012. The recent slowdown in economic growth is alsoreflected in higher unemployment levels. Overallunemployment in WB&G was 20.9 percent in the secondquarter of 2012 compared to 18.7 percent during the sameperiod in 2011. A serious concern in WB&G is the highlevel of youth unemployment that is accompanied by low youthparticipation in the labor force.