Using index simulators

In some Arab countries, the bodies responsible for setting national plans often lack strategy or policy tools to achieve stated targets. They also suffer from major difficulties in collecting and producing information about the status of the economy, from insufficient coherence within and across national priorities, or from a lack of broad national commitment to ensuring the implementation of reforms.  

ESCWA provides its member States with technical support to identify their national strengths and weaknesses through regional and international indicators to improve policymaking. It is building an interactive tool that simulates the main development indicators and shows the impact of changing input variables on a country’s total score. This tool will use available data and information related to these indicators.

Our approach

Our partners

World Bank; World Intellectual Property Organization; United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs; International Monetary Fund; Other United Nations regional commissions 

Our activities

• Databases/static simulator: a database for selected international indexes: Gender Gap Index, Competitiveness Index, Doing Business Index, Economic Freedom Index, ICT Development Index, DESA e-Government Index, Global Cybersecurity Index, Global Innovation Index, Global Prosperity Index, Financial Development Index; static international indexes simulators for each of the selected international indexes, and databases for forecasting analysis. 
• Models/forecasting: Building dynamic forecasting models for selected international indexes to assess the relative impact of specific policies, reforms or national development plans.   
• Platform: a software tool simulating selected international and regional indicators. 
• Working papers/analytical reports: an analysis report (country profile according to the selected indicators); a technical paper on options for linking trade related indicators to the global Arab trade simulator; a technical paper on links between gender policies and related indicators; and innovation/new technology indicators and relevant policies. 
• User guides/training material: a user guide on the simulator, and training material on the simulator. 
• Validation workshops: to discuss the pilot version of the tool, and the hypothesis used for forecasting analyses. 
• Trainings: one regional training of trainers, and four national trainings workshops.