Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen and Libya are trapped in a “poor policy – poor growth” cycle, which prevents their economies from moving to a sustainable growth path, says the World Bank in the newly released Quarterly Economic Brief for the Middle East & North Africa region.

Watch the interview with World Bank Chief Economist Shantayanan Devarajan (in Arabic).

Read the World Bank August 2014 Quarterly Economic Brief for the Middle East & North Africa region: “Predictions, Perceptions and Economic Reality - Challenges of Seven Middle East and North Africa Countries Described in 14 Charts”