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on Arab World |
| By: | Tansel, Aysit (Middle East Technical University); Güngör, Nil Demet (Atilim University) |
| Abstract: | Several recent empirical studies have examined the gender effects of education on economic growth or on steady-state level of output using the much exploited, familiar cross-country data in order to determine their quantitative importance and the direction of correlation. This paper undertakes a similar study of the gender effects of education using province level data for Turkey. The main findings indicate that female education positively and significantly affects the steady-state level of labor productivity, while the effect of male education is in general either positive or insignificant. Separate examination of the effect of educational gender gap was negative on output. The results are found to be robust to a number of sensitivity analyses, such as elimination of outlier observations, controls for simultaneity and measurement errors, controls for omitted variables by including regional dummy variables, steady-state versus growth equations and considering different samples. |
| Keywords: | labor productivity, economic development, education, gender, Turkey |
| JEL: | O11 O15 I21 J16 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6532&r=ara |
| By: | Kirdar, Murat; Dayioglu, Meltem; Koc, Ismet |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of the extension of compulsory schooling in Turkey from 5 to 8 years—which increased the 8th grade completion rate for women by 30 percentage points—on marriage and birth outcomes of teenage women in Turkey. We find that increased compulsory schooling years reduce the probability of teenage marriage and births for women substantially, and these effects persist well beyond the new compulsory schooling years: the probability of marriage by age 18 falls by more than 4 percentage points and the probability of giving birth by age 19 falls by more than 4.5 percentage points for the earliest cohorts affected by the policy. In addition, the new policy increases the time to first-birth after marriage. We find conclusive evidence that longer compulsory schooling years have human capital effects on the time to first-birth, as well as incarcertation effects on teenage marriage; there is also suggestive evidence for human capital effects on teenage marriage. |
| Keywords: | Teenage marriage; Teenage births; Education; Compulsory Schooling Policy; Regression-Discontunity |
| JEL: | J13 I21 I28 J12 D10 |
| Date: | 2012–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38735&r=ara |
| By: | Helmy, Mohamed |
| Abstract: | The use of financial services and products that comply with the Shariah principles cause special issues for supervision and risk management. Efficient risk management in Islamic banking has assumed particular importance as they try to cope with the challenges of globalization. This paper highlights the special and general risks surrounding Islamic banking. It also explains the key challenges ahead to promote further development of Islamic banking in the global financial system. As The developing of managing risks tool becomes very essential especially in Islamic banking as most of the products is depending on PLS principle , so identifying and measuring each type of risk is highly important and critical in any Islamic financial based system . Another approach on the recommendation is showing how the Islamic banking can be an ideal alternative than the current conventional banking system . emphasizing the role of Islamic banking on hedging against the economic crisis and the how it can be an add value to the nationals economics in terms of making the society more productive . |
| Keywords: | Risk Management in Islamic Banks |
| JEL: | G32 |
| Date: | 2012–04–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38706&r=ara |
| By: | Leonor Coutinho |
| Abstract: | Despite significant economic reforms in many Southern Mediterranean EU neighbour countries, their growth performance has on average been subdued. This study analyses the differences in growth performance and macroeconomic stability across Mediterranean countries, to draw lessons for the future. The main findings are that Southern Mediterranean countries should benefit from closer ties with the EU that result in higher levels of trade and FDI inflows, once the turbulence of the ‘Arab Spring’ is resolved, and from the development of financial markets and infrastructure. They will also benefit in keeping inflation under control, which will depend in great part on their ability to maintain fiscal discipline and sustainable current accounts. One of the main challenges for the region will be to implement structural reforms that can help them absorb a large pool of unemployed without creating upward risks to inflation. |
| Keywords: | Growth, EU neighborhood policy, Trade, FDI, Financial Development, Inflation |
| JEL: | O40 F15 F43 E61 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sec:cnstan:0436&r=ara |
| By: | Jellal, Mohamed; Bouzahzah, Mohamed |
| Abstract: | This paper is part of a large research agenda by our Institute on the causes and consequences of moroccan corruption . This paper analyzes theoretically and empirically the main determinants of firms corruption in Morocco firms in the formal sector. It is shown that the presence of rents linked to favoritism and patronage practices is fundamental in explaining corruption. This endemic corruption can then explain the lack of productive performance of Moroccan firms. Institutional reforms would greatly be desirable to encourage efficiency in the industrial sector which is the main engine of economic growth. |
| Keywords: | Corruption; firms; rents; favoritism; competition policy; morocco |
| JEL: | L5 D73 D21 K21 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38750&r=ara |
| By: | M. DISLI; K. SCHOORS; J. MEIR |
| Abstract: | We analyze how political connections affect depositor discipline in a sample of Turkish banks. Banks with former members of parliament at the helm enjoy reduced depositor discipline, especially if the former politician’s party is currently in power, but less so if the former politician served as a minister. Banks with structural problems are more likely to appoint former politicians, but our results remain robust after controlling for selection effects. Ministers may reduce depositor discipline less because they signal severe problems and because the additional government deposits they bring to the bank during their term tend to depart with them. |
| Keywords: | Depositor Discipline; Political connections; Banks |
| JEL: | G1 G2 D7 |
| Date: | 2012–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:12/781&r=ara |
| By: | Driouchi, Ahmed; Mertou, Amat |
| Abstract: | Abstract: The objective of this research is to investigate the situation of the poor in Morocco through assessing the implicit charges of informal housing transactions in different cities. A model allowing the calculation of the implicit interest rate from the traditional-mortgage transactions is applied. Data about traditional-mortgage housing transactions, duration, and rental values are collected from a sample of households in different cities. The results reveal that these transactions are costly although they involve small amounts of money. On average, a rate higher than 6% but lower than 50 % is implicitly implied in traditional-mortgage transactions. The overall results confirm that poor households are implicitly charged higher interest rates in their housing transactions in comparison with the explicit rates charged by formal credit markets, including microfinance. This implies that administrative and economic policies are to be further developed to ensure that poor households can easily access formal credit markets. |
| Keywords: | Keywords: Implicit interest rate- Informal Traditional Housing- Poverty-Morocco |
| JEL: | D86 D72 R21 G21 |
| Date: | 2012–04–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38732&r=ara |
| By: | Davutyan, Nurhan; Bilsel, Murat; Tarcan, Menderes |
| Abstract: | Abstract: We analyze the operational performance of 330 Turkish provincial general hospitals. To help improve performance on both input and output space, we adopt a directional distance approach. We treat a mortality based variable as “bad output”. Congested hospitals are those for whom the switch from strong to weak disposability of mortality is costly. Thus we are able to address the “quality or adequacy of care” issue. We identify congested hospitals using 3 different direction vectors and derive the associated congestion inefficiency scores. For each case, we show these scores are negatively related to patient satisfaction. We separate congested hospitals into two groups: (i) those requiring uniform sacrifice of good outputs and/or extra inputs in order to reduce mortality, and (ii) those that do not. The latter ones free up some inputs in addition to requiring extra amounts of other inputs and/or produce more of some outputs but less of others as the price of reducing mortality. The first group can be said to operate at “capacity” whereas the latter can be said to display “negative marginal productivity”. Patient dissatisfaction is demonstrably higher in the latter group of hospitals, whereas mortality reduction is positively related to patient satisfaction in “capacity constrained” hospitals. The first group is more likely to be located in emigrating whereas the second one in immigrating regions. |
| Keywords: | Directional distance; bad outputs; hospital quality |
| JEL: | D21 I11 |
| Date: | 2012–03–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:37437&r=ara |
| By: | Bouaziz, Zied; Triki, Mohamed |
| Abstract: | The Board of Directors plays a key role as a mechanism of internal corporate governance. Indeed, its effectiveness is dependent on the presence of several factors, the most important are related to characteristics that relate primarily to the independence of its members, board size, combining the functions of decision and control and the degree of independence of the audit committee and gender diversity of the board. To test the validity of our hypothesis, which states the existence of a deterministic characteristic of the board on financial performance measured by three different ratios, namely ROA, ROE and Tobin's Q, we have developed three linear regression models. Our empirical validation was conducted on a sample of 26 companies listed on the Tunisian stock exchange Tunis (Tunis Stock Exchange) over a period that spans four years (2007- 2010). The estimated models show satisfactory results showing the importance of the impact of board characteristics on financial performance of Tunisian companies. |
| Keywords: | Board of Directors - financial performance -board size-the accumulation of functions-diversity of the board |
| JEL: | G38 |
| Date: | 2012–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:38672&r=ara |