The past ten years for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region countries have registered an extreme deterioration in at least one measure of social and economic welfare: earnings inequality, unemployment, and poverty. The combination of slow economic growth, population explosion, and decline in labor productivity led to the reversal of the economic gains achieved during the economic boom in the 1970s. In contrast to that period, growth per capita (GDP) in 1980-1991 for Arab countries was -0.2%. Several indicators point to the extent of the problems faced today by the region's...

The 21st century witnessed major changes in the financial environment surrounding bank regulators and banks. "Banking and Monetary Policies in a Changing Financial Environment" delves into three of these developments and challenges.

The first change in the financial environment relates to the rise in the number and sophistication of financial and economic crimes which shaped the international regulatory architecture. New rules and regulations led to the creation of new strategies to combat these crimes, especially those concerning the spread of more advanced money laundering methods and...