This paper is prepared under a United Nations  Development Account project on “Social  Expenditure Monitor: An Integrated Framework  for Supporting Macro-Fiscal Policies and the  SDGs in the Arab region” at the Economic and  Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)  in partnership with Ministry of Planning and  International Cooperation, and Ministry of  Finance in Jordan.

The paper was prepared by a team led by  Niranjan Sarangi, Senior Economic Affairs  Officer and Coordinator of the project, Omar  Hakouz, Regional Statistics Advisor, Nour  Rmeih, Research Assistant, Ahmed Al-Alwan,  Consultant, Marwen Hkiri, Economist; Dana  Hamdan, Research Assistant; and Layal  Darwiche, Research Assistant.

The team expresses its thankfulness and  appreciation for the work of its partners on the  Jordanian side consisting of senior officials from various ministries and Government  institutions in Jordan such as Dr. Hanadi Rifaee  and Dr. Haytham Oudoh from the Jordanian  Ministry of Finance; Dr. Hadram Al-Fayez and  Dr. Mutasim Al-Kilani from the Jordanian  Ministry of Planning and International  Cooperation; and other participants for their  contributions to the national workshops on  Jordan Social Expenditure Monitor that  enriched and developed the social expenditure  monitor of Jordan.

The comments and inputs from Mr. Oussama  Safa, Chief of the ESCWA Social Justice Section,  and Mr. Nathaniel Martin, ESCWA Associate  Economic Affairs Officer, are greatly  appreciated. 

Finally, the team would like to thank Mr. 

Mohamed Moctar Mohamed El Hacene, Leader  of Shared Economic Prosperity Cluster for his  guidance and support in producing the paper.