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on Arab World |
| By: | Naghshineh-Pour, Amir |
| Abstract: | The global financial crisis is set to depress oil producing economies. As the crisis is already pushing down oil prices, a firm response to the fallout of the crisis from governments and central banks is expected. Oil prices have tumbled more than 70% since their July peak and there are fears they could continue their plunge because of diminishing demand caused by the current financial meltdown. Though, the Iranian government does not seem to be greatly concerned about the ongoing global situation, although many Iranian economists believe that sanctions and the international financial crisis will soon be taking their toll on Iran’s economy by unfavorably affecting oil, trade, and trade financing. Even if the relative isolation from the world’s economy may seem to protect Iran from the negative impact of the global financial crisis to a certain extend at least for now, plunging oil prices and a massive credit deterioration suggest otherwise. |
| Keywords: | Iran; Financial Crisis; Oil Revenue; Currency Exchange; Currency Crash |
| JEL: | O5 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13314&r=ara |
| By: | Naghshineh-Pour, Amir |
| Abstract: | A steep fall in crude prices allied with lower output will decrease the Iranian government’s foreign revenues significantly. The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) has lost 30% of its value in the last four months, which points to a sizable economic slowdown in the near future. Perhaps Iran is among a handful of countries that has not properly planned to combat any potential economic crisis in the face of lower oil prices and the global financial meltdown that began to show its visage in the middle of 2007. The substantial inflow of petrodollars to the government’s account coupled with the faulty assumption that the oil prices will continue to rise triggered the government to infuse billions of dollars into the economic and banking system. Iranian officials have just begun to accept the new global circumstances and are after drafting a budget for the next Iranian year to ride out the financial turmoil. The administration is planning to eliminate energy subsidies and reduce its price controls in the new fiscal budget planning in order to reduce the massive deficit. It is indeed ironic from a government that has no belief in principles of a free market economy and denied it in the past to draw such a plan, many economists have stated. Whether the government has realized its past mistakes, is unknown and whether the new budget and policy will ease the current economic problems, remains to be seen! A more important question is whether the central bank and the administration will be able to employ the available monetary and fiscal tools to tackle the profound upcoming economic challenges, since they already tied their hands by their past mistakes and beliefs. Overall, the next few months or perhaps years will undoubtedly be very challenging times for the system. |
| Keywords: | Iran; Budget Deficit; Economic Policy; Credit Crisis |
| JEL: | F14 |
| Date: | 2009–02–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13282&r=ara |
| By: | Ali Abdel Gadir Ali |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:api:apiwps:0902&r=ara |
| By: | Laurent Weill (Laboratoire de Recherche en Gestion et Economie, Université de Strasbourg) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to investigate whether Islamic banks have greater market power than conventional banks. Indeed Islamic banks may benefit from a captive clientele, owing to religious principles, which would be charged greater prices. To measure market power, we compute Lerner indices on a sample of banks from 17 countries in which Islamic and conventional banks coexist over the period 2000-2007. Comparison of Lerner indices shows no significant difference between Islamic banks and conventional banks. When including control variables, regression of Lerner indices even suggests that Islamic banks have a lower market power than conventional banks. A robustness check with the Rosse-Panzar model confirms that Islamic banks are not less competitive than conventional banks. The lower market power of Islamic banks can be explained by their different norms and their different incentives. |
| Keywords: | Islamic banks, Lerner index, Bank Competition. |
| JEL: | G21 D43 D82 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lar:wpaper:2009-02&r=ara |
| By: | Tosun, Mehmet Serkan (University of Nevada-Reno); Yilmaz, Serdar (The World Bank) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines broadly the intergovernmental structure in the Middle East and North Africa region, which has one of the most centralized government structures in the world. The authors address the reasons behind this centralized structure by looking first at the history behind the tax systems of the region. They review the Ottoman taxation system, which has been predominantly influential as a model, and discuss its impact on current government structure. They also discuss the current intergovernmental structure by examining the type and degree of decentralization in five countries representative of the region: Egypt, Iran, West Bank/Gaza, Tunisia, and Yemen. Cross-country regression analysis using panel data for a broader set of countries leads to better understanding of the factors behind heavy centralization in the region. The findings show that external conflicts constitute a major roadblock to decentralization in the region. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal decentralization; intergovernmental relations; Middle East and North Africa |
| JEL: | H77 H87 N45 O53 |
| Date: | 2008–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4774&r=ara |
| By: | Mansur, Kasim; Abd. Rahim, Dayangku Aslinah; Lim, Beatrice; Mahmud, Roslinah |
| Abstract: | Malaysian women have continued to play an increasingly important role in the national development of the country including greater participation in the economy and labor market. These improvements were made possible by the increasing numbers of females having access to education. Education provides better work opportunities and thus increases the level of income of an individual. Therefore education is perceived to be an important factor in human capital formation. In Islam, every Muslim is required to acquire knowledge as much as possible. Knowledge generates wealth. Thus, Islam condemns idleness, inactivity and poverty are condemned. A Muslim should be actively involved in the pursuit of increasing their knowledge and skill to ensure that their life is not of mere subsistence. This paper will look at the perception towards the importance of education among Muslim women. A total of 189 respondents were interviewed from selected kampongs in the district of Papar, Sabah. The data collected was analyzed and reported using descriptive statistics. About 42.4 percent respondents have obtained a diploma and degree level education. From the study, it is found that 78 percent of the total respondents perceived that education is very important. A total of 47.1 percent strongly agreed that education can influence future income. Essentially, a total of 78.8 per cent agreed that higher level of education leads to a higher level of income. |
| Keywords: | Education; Women; Sabah |
| JEL: | O18 I20 |
| Date: | 2009–02–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13274&r=ara |
| By: | Çoban, Serap |
| Abstract: | This study focuses on the relationships among mortality rates, income and educational inequality in terms of economic growth to investigate similarities and differences between the Euro Area and Turkey. For this purpose, income gini as an indicator of income inequality and education gini as an indicator of education inequality are used in the analyses. The relations among the variables are examined with panel data analysis for the Euro Area and with time series analysis for Turkey by using these coefficients and mortality rates for the period of 1980 and 2006. The results show that access to education is more important than the others for Turkey and the Euro Area. There is also a considerable relation between education inequality and mortality rates of infant and adult. |
| Keywords: | Educational Gini; Income Gini; Mortality Rates; Economic Growth; Panel Data Analysis; Euro Area; Turkey |
| JEL: | I30 I20 I10 |
| Date: | 2008–07–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13296&r=ara |
| By: | Cakmak, Erol H. (The World Bank); Dudu, Hasan (The World Bank); Saracoglu, Sirin (The World Bank); Diao, Xinshen (IFPRI); Roe, Terry (University of Minnesota); Tsur, Yacov (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) |
| Abstract: | Agricultural production is heavily dependent on water availability in Turkey, where half the crop production relies on irrigation. Irrigated agriculture consumes about 75 percent of total water used, which is about 30 percent of renewable water availability. This study analyzes the likely effects of increased competition for water resources and changes in the Turkish economy. The analysis uses an economy-wide Walrasian Computable General Equilibrium model with a detailed account of the agricultural sector. The study investigated the economy-wide effects of two external shocks, namely a permanent increase in the world prices of agricultural commodities and climate change, along with the impact of the domestic reallocation of water between agricultural and non-agricultural uses. It was also recognized that because of spatial heterogeneity of the climate, the simulated scenarios have differential impact on the agricultural production and hence on the allocation of factors of production including water. The greatest effects on major macroeconomic indicators occur in the climate change simulations. As a result of the transfer of water from rural to urban areas, overall production of all crops declines. Although production on rainfed land increases, production on irrigated land declines, most notably the production of maize and fruits. The decrease in agricultural production, coupled with the domestic price increase, is further reflected in net trade. Agricultural imports increase with a greater decline in agricultural exports. |
| Keywords: | Computable General Equilibrium; Feedback links; Irrigation Water; Turkey |
| JEL: | C68 O13 Q15 Q18 |
| Date: | 2008–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4781&r=ara |
| By: | Arai, Mahmood (Stockholm University Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS); Karlsson, Jonas (Stockholm University Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS); Lundholm, Michael (Department of Economics, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This study is a replication of "Are Muslim Immigrants Different in terms of Cultural Integration?" by Alberto Bisin, Eleonora Patacchini, Thierry Verdier and Yves Zenou, published in Journal of European Economic Association, 6, 445-456, 2008. Bisin et al. (2008) report that they have 5963 observations in their study. Using their empirical setup, we can only identify 1901 relevant observations in the original data. After removing missing values we are left with 818 observations. We cannot replicate any of their results and our estimations yield no support for their claims. |
| Keywords: | religious identity; assimilation; Muslims; replication study; Reproducible research |
| JEL: | A14 J15 |
| Date: | 2009–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sulcis:2009_001&r=ara |
| By: | Arai, Mahmood (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University); Karlsson, Jonas (The Institute for Social Research and SULCIS); Lundholm, Michael (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This study is a replication of "Are Muslim Immigrants Different in terms of Cultural Integration?" by Alberto Bisin, Eleonora Patacchini, Thierry Verdier and Yves Zenou, published in Journal of European Economic Association, 6, 445-456, 2008. Bisin et al. (2008) report that they have 5963 observations in their study. Using their empirical setup, we can only identify 1901 relevant observations in the original data. After removing missing values we are left with 818 observations. We cannot replicate any of their results and our estimations yield no support for their claims. |
| Keywords: | Religious Identity; Assimilation; Muslims; Replication Study; Reproducible Research |
| JEL: | A14 J15 |
| Date: | 2008–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sunrpe:2009_0005&r=ara |
| By: | Mahmood, Arai (Stockholm University Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS); Karlsson, Jonas (Stockholm University Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS); Lundholm, Michael (Department of Economics, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This study is a replication, with technical documentation, of "Are Muslim Immigrants Different in terms of Cultural Integration?" by Alberto Bisin, Eleonora Patacchini, Thierry Verdier and Yves Zenou, published in Journal of European Economic Association, 6, 445-456, 2008. Bisin et al. (2008) report that they have 5963 observations in their study. Using their empirical setup, we can only identify 1901 relevant observations in the original data. After removing missing values we are left with 818 observations. We cannot replicate any of their results and our estimations yield no support for their claims. |
| Keywords: | religious identity; assimilation; Muslims; replication study; Reproducible research |
| JEL: | A14 J15 |
| Date: | 2009–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sulcis:2009_002&r=ara |
| By: | Christopher F. Baum (Boston College; DIW Berlin); Mustafa Caglayan (University of Sheffield); Oleksandr Talavera (Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effects of parliamentary election cycles on the Turkish banking system. Using annual bank-level data representing all banks in Turkey during 1963-2005, we find that there are meaningful differences in the structure of assets, liabilities and financial performance across different stages of the parliamentary election cycle. However, we find that government-owned banks operate similarly to both domestic and foreign-owned private sector banks before, during and after elections. Our estimates also show that government-owned banks underperform their domestic and foreign-owned private sector counterparts. |
| Keywords: | elections, state banks, domestic banks, foreign-owned banks, loans, interest rate margin |
| JEL: | G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2009–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:bocoec:705&r=ara |
| By: | Arai, Mahmood (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University); Karlsson, Jonas (The Institute for Social Research and SULCIS); Lundholm, Michael (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This is a technical documentation of Arai et al. (2008) which replicates "Are Muslim Immigrants Different in Terms of Cultural Integration?" by Alberto Bisin, Eleonora Patacchini, Thierry Verdier and Yves Zenou, published in Journal of European Economic Association, 6, 445-456, 2008.<p> Bisin et al. (2008) report that they have 5963 observations in their study. Using their empirical setup, we can only identify 1901 relevant observations in the original data. After removing missing values we are left with 818 observations. We cannot replicate any of their results and our estimations yield no support for their claims. |
| Keywords: | Religious Identity; Assimilation; Muslims; Replication Study; Reproducible Research |
| JEL: | A14 J15 |
| Date: | 2008–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sunrpe:2009_0006&r=ara |