As the third anniversary of the Arab Spring looms, it is possibly fair to look at some economic data which contributed to this defining moment in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region’s recent history.

Put differently, it is unfair to overlook the socio-economic causes of the Arab Spring in late 2010, starting with Tunisia.

In fact, the informal economy or the economy at large served as the foundation stone of Arab Spring. Mohammad Bu Azizi in Tunisia was working as a street vendor when a municipal official and her aides decided to confiscate, harass and humiliate him on charges of doing business in a public area illegally.

In protest, he set himself ablaze and died from the horrific injuries. Subsequent public anger forced President Bin Ali to step down and to flee the country in early January 2011 after 23 years in power.

In the case of Egypt, a combination of high youth unemployment, inflationary pressures and poverty - all in double-digits - played a part in the change.

The economic situation in Syria was no better though with some local variations, namely the tendency of locals to be employers rather than employees in business.

The Syrian economy had developed a habit of a chronic budgetary shortage, at times 20 per cent of revenues, necessitating in overseas funding assistance.

In Libya, the questionable use of the country’s resources in the absence of checks and balances paved the way for a violent and clearly unstable change.

Turning to Yemen, an exceptionally difficult economic situation provided the momentum for change, including unemployment and poverty levels of 35 per cent and 45 per cent.

The few GCC countries directly affected by Arab Spring moved swiftly to address some of the causes like jobs. For instance, the Omani authorities introduced measures creating some 56,000 jobs, divided between 36,000 and 20,000 in the public and private sectors.

Other actions led to a monthly payment of $390 for Omani nationals seeking employment as well as enhancement of retirement entitlements.

Four GCC countries agreed to allocate $10 billion each to Bahrain and Oman to assist both countries in addressing pressing economic challenges like constructing housing units and creating jobs for locals.

The authorities in Bahrain spared no efforts in new housing units in different parts of the country for the benefits of locals, thanks to the GCC largesse.

On the other hand, the economic cost associated with Arab Spring cannot be overlooked. A study suggests that the GDP of seven Arab countries could have been higher by some $800 billion by end-2014 but for the Arab Spring.

To be fair, most GCC economies have indirectly benefited from upheavals. For instance, Saudi Arabia managed to enhance its treasury income via additional output capacity to make up for the temporary loss of output from Libya and Syria at a time of steady oil prices.

This allowed for more than a doubling of revenues in 2011, from $144 billion to $296 billion. In turn, stronger income allowed for increasing spending from $155 billion to $214 billion, and thereby reversing a projected shortage into surplus.

Someone’s loss can always be someone else’s gain.

The writer is a Member of Parliament in Bahrain.