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on Arab World |
| By: | Tansel, Aysit (Middle East Technical University); Tasci, H. Mehmet (Balikesir University) |
| Abstract: | There is little evidence on unemployment duration and its determinants in developing countries. This study is on the duration aspect of unemployment in a developing country, Turkey. We analyze the determinants of the probability of leaving unemployment for employment or the hazard rate. The effects of the personal and household characteristics and the local labor market conditions are examined. The analyses are carried out for men and women separately. The results indicate that the nature of unemployment in Turkey exhibits similarities to the unemployment in both the developed and the developing countries. |
| Keywords: | unemployment duration, hazard analysis, gender, Turkey |
| JEL: | J64 C41 J16 |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4844&r=ara |
| By: | Alasrag, Hussien |
| Abstract: | Due to their increasing importance to production growth and vital relation with various productive sectors in society, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have become one of the key instruments to face economic and social problems and achieve development objectives in most industrial and developing countries. Statistics show that SMEs represent 90% of total companies in the vast majority of economies worldwide and provide 40-80% of total job opportunities in addition to contributing largely to GDPs of many countries. For example, they constitute about 99% of the total private business, non-agricultural in Egypt, and contribute about 80% of the total added value produced by the private sector, with about two-thirds of the labor force and three-quarters of workers in special functions outside the agricultural sector. for Kuwait, this sector constitutes approximately 90% of the private workforce, including labor and imported an estimated 45% of the labor force, employment and national rates of less than 1%, in Lebanon, more than 95% of the total enterprises, contribute about 90% of the jobs. In the UAE , small and medium enterprises accounted about 94.3% of the economic projects in the country, and employs about 62% of the workforce and contributes around 75% of the GDP of the state. In addition, they account for 96% of the GDP in Yemen in 2005, and about 77%, 59%, 25% in Algeria, Palestine and Saudi Arabia, respectively, during the same year , while the contribution of these projects range between 25% -40% of the GDP of Egypt.This research aims to study enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium business enterprises in the Arab Countries under the knowledge economy in the light of the growing interest in it, through identification of the concept and importance of small business enterprises for the Arab States, the most important challenges facing development, and finally the research tries to propose a number of policy recommendations to develop and activate this important sector in the Arab countries under the knowledge economy. |
| Keywords: | competitiveness ; small and medium business enterprises ; the Arab Countries ; the knowledge economy |
| JEL: | L53 O31 |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:21742&r=ara |
| By: | Marzovilla, Olga; Mele, Marco |
| Abstract: | In May 2007, Kuwait unilaterally abandoned the dollar peg, adopted in 2003 as a first step towards the monetary integration of GCC countries, to return to the previous basket peg system. The decision was motivated by the need to limit the inflationary pressures resulting from prolonged depreciation of the dollar against major currencies. Given the importance the anti-inflationary objective had in this choice, the work focuses on the peculiarities of Kuwait’s economy, justifying and reviewing the price dynamics in the light of re-pegging to the basket, in the belief that its composition has been affected by inflationary trends. To this end, an econometric model "Auto-Regressive Moving Average" is proposed to define the weights of currencies in the basket and the estimate shows that Euro’s has increased during the period, consistent with the goals against inflation. This is a particularly important to the future of the planned monetary union of the GCC countries, given the renewed commitment of Kuwait to be part of it, despite the existence of different exchange rate systems in force in other countries. |
| Keywords: | GCC countries; exchange rate regimes; basket peg; dollar peg; inflation |
| JEL: | F15 F32 E31 F33 F31 |
| Date: | 2010–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:21605&r=ara |