The weak performance of the ESCWA region is particularly noticeable when compared to the rapidly growing economies of countries in East Asia. The objective of this series is to develop policy prescriptions for ESCWA member countries in order to ensure better economic growth performance and an improvement in productivity. This fourth issue aims to assess the productivity performance of selected ESCWA member countries by applying innovative theoretical frameworks. Specifically, the production frontier approach, which is based on data envelopment analysis, is used to analyse trends in total factor productivity. This method is also extended to a decomposition analysis of labour productivity. By introducing these methodologies, this study also seeks to promote technical discussion among the region's experts in the field.