Yazgan, M. Ege2021-06-162021-06-162015-11-021540496Xhttps://hdl.handle.net/11411/3767https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2015.1080517We aim to assess welfare improvements in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region using the Human Development Index (HDI). We obtain weighting schemes that yield the best- and worst-case scenarios for measured human development, relying on consistent tests for stochastic dominance efficiency (SDE), with the official equally weighted HDI taken as a benchmark. In the best-case scenario index, life expectancy and GDP indexes receive the highest weights for the 1975-2005 period, while the education index is the dominant contributor to the worst-case scenario in the same period. In addition, we observe a relative change in the best- and worst-case scenarios between two fifteen-year periods. The GDP index is the main contributor to the best-case scenario between 1975 and 1990, whereas the education index is the main contributor to the worst-case scenario during that period. Life expectancy is the main contributor to the best-case scenario in the 1990-2005 period, while the GDP and education indexes are the primary contributors to the worst-case scenario during that period. © Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessHuman Development IndexMENA regionmixed integer programmingnonparametric stochastic dominanceregional developmentArticle2-s2.0-8494421217010.1080/1540496X.2015.1080517N/AWOS:000363215900011