World Bank seeks to curb North Africa handouts

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/08/uk-worldbank-zoellick-idUKTRE7574CJ20110608

(Reuters) - Developing countries, including post-revolution North African states Tunisia and Egypt, should limit welfare handouts to the most needy and address market bottlenecks to curb inflation, the World Bank chief said.

Robert Zoellick said authorities should resist pressure to boost wages or handouts, even as food prices surge and economic life remains uncertain after the people-power protests that ousted authoritarian leaders from Tunis and Cairo this year.

"The way to deal with these challenges is to focus on the most vulnerable with safety net programmes and try to make the markets work better, as opposed to some who believe you can stop or control ... markets," Zoellick told reporters in Oslo.

He said Tunisia and Egypt should consider conditional welfare schemes that worked well in Brazil and Mexico. Both had offered subsidies to the poorest only if they kept their children in school and had regular health check-ups.





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