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on Arab World |
| By: | Djavad Salehi-Isfahani (Virginia Tech and Brookings Institution) |
| Abstract: | Middle East and North African countries (MENA) have achieved much to be proud of in human development. Falling child mortality and fertility have transformed family structures in most MENA countries. Despite important advances in health, education, and income, there are certain aspects human development in which MENA countries have not progressed as far. There are inequalities in human development regionally, within each country and for specific demographic groups, most importantly for youth and women. In this paper I review the record of human development in the MENA region to highlight areas in which the region has been more successful, as well those in which human development has lagged in absolute terms or relative to economic growth. I draw attention to certain important characteristics of the region that distinguish it from other developing regions, in particular the presence of oil income and delayed demographic transition. |
| Keywords: | Human development, Middle East and North Africa, Youth. |
| JEL: | O15 N35 J13 J16 J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2010–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdr:papers:hdrp-2010-26&r=ara |
| By: | Murat Duran; Gulserim Ozcan; Pinar Ozlu; Deren Unalmis |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcb:wpaper:1017&r=ara |
| By: | Necati Tekatli |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcb:wpaper:1019&r=ara |
| By: | K. Azim Ozdemir; Mesut Saygili |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcb:wpaper:1015&r=ara |
| By: | Pinar Ozlu; Cihan Yalcin |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcb:wpaper:1016&r=ara |
| By: | Saygin Sahinoz; Evren Erdogan Cosar |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcb:wpaper:1013&r=ara |
| By: | Rim Chatti (Ministère des Finances du Québec, Canada); Faycel Zidi |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on how trade reform affected regional growth during the stage of economic transformation. The main question addressed is whether progressive trade liberalization has an impact on regional economic growth and poverty and reduces regional disparities amongst the Tunisian regions. The paper explores the factors behind such transformations. In order to achieve this goal the paper is divided into 3 sections. The first section briefly describes the data and model underlying the study. The second section presents the simulation results on regional growth and poverty. Simulation results reveal that all the regions experience better economic performance with freer-trade, but poverty outcomes differ from one region to another. The concluding remarks are presented in the last section. |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:563&r=ara |
| By: | Zangeneh, Hamid |
| Abstract: | Iran's unimpressive economic performance came about as a result of the Iran-Iraq War and the inevitable collapse of oil prices, both of which were beyond the government’s control, in combination with economic sanctions and many self-inflicted and self-destructive policies. Foremost among the self-inflicted and self-destructive wounds is the insecurity of individual citizens, human rights violations; the faltering private investment, is lack of uniformity in the application of the laws of the land and uncertainty due to political instability, corruption, and low exports and imports (total trade) relative to the world total trade. |
| Keywords: | Iran; economic growth; economy; inflation; international trade; investment |
| JEL: | F00 O5 F14 |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26283&r=ara |
| By: | Lahcen Achy (INSEA); Samy Ben Naceur; Adel Ben Youssef; Samir Ghazouani |
| Abstract: | The aim of the present paper is to analyze the impacts of the upgrading policies adopted by Morocco for almost ten years. We apply the stochastic frontier approach initiated by Battese and Coelli (1995) to a panel of 282 firms from Morocco during the period [1998–2005]. Such parametric methodology leads to estimating the technical efficiency for Moroccan firms and we obtain an average of no more that 13.3 percent, which is considered very low. Yet what is important is the possibility to conduct, in a second stage, an evaluation of the impact of some environmental factors on pure technical efficiency. In this sense, improvement of technical efficiency is detected for firms which have officially subscribed in the upgrading process. |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:565&r=ara |
| By: | Gerhard Glomm (Department of Economics, Indiana University - Bloomington); Juergen Jung (Department of Economics, Towson University) |
| Abstract: | We construct a dynamic general equilibrium model to analyze the fiscal situation of Egypt. We model Egypt as a small open economy that takes real interest rates and world prices of fuel as given. Since a large component of the government budget consists of pensions payments, we use an overlapping generations structure. The model contains descriptions of the public and private sector, as well as descriptions of the production sectors for a public good such as infrastructure, energy, and a final aggregate consumption good. The model pays special attention to the energy sector. We then calibrate the model to data from Egypt. The following policy reforms are considered: (i) reductions in pensions to public sector workers, (ii) reductions in pensions to private sector workers, (iii) reductions in the public sector pay premiums, (iv) decreases of the energy subsidies, and (v) a decrease of the public sector workforce. In each case we reduce the "expenditure" by 15 percent. For each of the reforms we adjust consumption taxes, labor taxes, "capital taxes", or public investments in infrastructure to satisfy the government budget constraint. We calculate the new steady states, the transition paths to the new steady states, and the size of the welfare gains or losses for all reforms. We find that due to the modest nature of the reforms, the effect of the policy reforms on GDP and consumption are modest. Often these gains are in the neighborhood of 1 percent. We find that welfare gains or losses can be sizable and that the largest gains from the reforms are attained when the freed up resources are used for infrastructure investments or for lowering the tax on company profits. |
| Keywords: | Fiscal policy reform, public sector reform, energy subsidies, growth. |
| JEL: | E21 E63 H55 J26 J45 |
| Date: | 2010–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tow:wpaper:2010-17&r=ara |
| By: | Rasha Khatib; Awad Mataria (Institute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit University) |
| Abstract: | This paper employs a Benefit Incidence Analysis (BIA) framework of health care financing in the occupied Palestinian territory to trace the distribution of public spending on health care, and to provide some elements of response that would complement, and integrate with, the findings from previous literature on the topic for the case of the occupied Palestinian territory. With this aim in mind, the present paper attempts to address the following objectives: (i) to assess the budget and financing structure of the different health care providers in the occupied Palestinian territory, as related to various socioeconomic, locality, and ailment groups of the population; (ii) to assess the health status of the Palestinian population and its distribution over different: demographic, geographic and socio-economic groups, using generic mortality and morbidity indicators; and (iii) to assess how benefits of public spending are distributed across different groups of the population. The occupied Palestinian territory is not a classical example of a developing country aiming to improve equity in the health system and thus such evaluation will take into consideration the political instability of the country and its influence on the financing of the health care system. |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:564&r=ara |
| By: | Niklas Potrafke (Department of Economics, University of Konstanz, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Using the POLITY IV and Freedom House indices, Rowley and Smith (2009) found that countries with Muslim majorities enjoy less freedom and are less democratic than countries in which Muslims are a minority. Because the POLITY IV and Freedom House indices have been criticized on several grounds, I reinvestigate Rowley and Smith’s finding using the new Democracy-Dictatorship data from Cheibub et al. (2010). The empirical results confirm that countries with Muslim majorities are indeed less likely to be democratic. |
| Keywords: | Islam, religion, democracy, political institutions |
| JEL: | Z12 O11 P16 P48 F59 |
| Date: | 2010–11–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:knz:dpteco:1010&r=ara |