Jordan urban development assessment : final report

The Government of Jordan (GOJ) must focus on employment issues, as labor supply is expected to exceed demand over the next 5 years - a unprecendented situation in the past decade. The main opportunities for job growth lie in the private services sectors, including both knowledge-based industries and tourism. Because the GOJ has not devoted much attention to these sectors, although they employ Jordanian-educated workers, employment distribution is likely to remain unbalanced geographically, with most jobs located in the exceptionally well situated Amman region. New employment opportunities in secondary urban areas will be linked to growth in services and small-scale manufacturing. The UDA examines the role of municipal governments in urban development in regard to service delivery and economic and land development. If local governments are to actively provide development-oriented services, there will be a need for planning and management skills upgrading and thus for institutional development. The major recent change in municipal finance has been the tremendous increase in the use of loans for capital expenditures. Small cities have become much more dependent on centrally-collected taxes and loans than large cities. While the scope for increasing the revenue base of local taxes is limited, there are signs that some muncipalities can improve the efficiency of both revenue collections and expenditures. Noting that USAID/J program targets in the urban sector (water supply and, more recently, low-income housing) are well considered, the UDA lists several additional high-priority areas for USAID technical assistance, including small enterprise development in secondary cities, development of knowledge-based industries, upgrading national-level capability in monitoring local government finances and public service standards and costs, and training in municipal management and finance. (PRE/H-supplied abstract)