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on MENA - Middle East and North Africa |
| By: | Leonid Sykiainen (National Research University Higher School of Economics. Department of Theory of Law and Comparative Law; Professor) |
| Abstract: | At the end of 2010 there was series of political crises in the Arab world and this period came to be known as “the Arab Spring”. Islam has played a significant role in these events. In certain countries overthrowing the existing regimes resulted in Islamic governments coming to power. A number of aspects of the Arab Spring attracted the attention of contemporary Islamic legal thought. Its different schools diverge in the assessment of the mass protests. Islamic jurisprudence explains the “fiqh of revolution” which justifies the demonstrations and protests against the regime from a Sharia-based point of view |
| Keywords: | “the Arab Spring”; Islam; political reforms; Sharia, demonstrations; innovation; “fiqh of revolution” |
| JEL: | K30 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:17/law/2013&r=ara |
| By: | Firat Bilgel (Department of Economics, Okan University Tuzla Campus Akfirat 34959 Istanbul Turkey.); Burhan Can Karahasan (Department of Economics, Okan University Tuzla Campus Akfirat 34959 Istanbul Turkey.) |
| Abstract: | Turkey has been suffering from separatist terrorism and the political conflict it implies since the mid-1980s, both of which are believed to have a negative impact on economic welfare. This article investigates the economic costs of PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) terrorism, particularly in the Eastern and Southeastern provinces of Turkey by invoking the synthetic control method. We create a synthetic control group that mimics the socioeconomic characteristics of the provinces exposed to terrorism before the PKK terrorism emerged in the mid-1980s. We then compare the real GDP of the synthetic provinces without terrorism to the actual provinces with terrorism for the period 1975-2001. Causal inference is carried out by comparing the real per capita GDP gap between the synthetic and actual provinces and the intensity of terrorist activity as measured by the number of terrorism casualties. We find that after the emergence of terrorism, the per capita real GDP in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia declined by about 6.6 percent relative to a comparable synthetic Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia without terrorism. |
| Keywords: | JEL classification: |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aqr:wpaper:201314&r=ara |
| By: | Hossein Mirshojaeian Hosseini (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University); Shinji Kaneko (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University) |
| Abstract: | To prevent further increases in energy consumption, the Iranian government commenced energy subsidy reform in 2010. This paper investigates the fuel conservation effects of the reform in Iran using a homothetic translog cost function that provides estimates of the own- and cross-price elasticities of fuel demands. The percentage reduction in fuel demands is estimated using the likely effect of the reform on fuel prices. The results reveal that the reform may not be as successful as assumed. Under optimistic assumptions, the reform may reduce energy consumption marginally, and under pessimistic assumptions, it may increase energy consumption because of inelastic fuel demands and substantial substitution between fuels. |
| Keywords: | Energy subsidy reform, Energy conservation, Iran, Translog cost function |
| JEL: | C32 Q38 Q43 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eut:wpaper:dp3-1&r=ara |
| By: | Ben Salha, Ousama; Jaidi, Zied |
| Abstract: | The present paper aims at examining the money demand function in Tunisia during the period 1981-2011. Unlike previous conventional money demand studies, the major components of real income are considered in this paper. Using the ARDL bounds testing approach, results reveal evidence of cointegration between broad money demand and its determinants, namely final consumption expenditure, expenditure on investment goods, export expenditure and interest rate. In the long-run, final consumption expenditure represents the major money demand determinant. This finding is robust to a variety of alternative money demand specifications and estimation methods. The empirical investigation suggests also the stability of the broad money demand function during the sample period. We conclude that monetary policy in Tunisia should be based on a broad definition of money. Furthermore, the estimation of the money demand function must take into account the different expenditure components of real income. |
| Keywords: | Money demand, M2, expenditure components, ARDL, Tunisia. |
| JEL: | C22 E41 E52 |
| Date: | 2013–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:51788&r=ara |
| By: | Mina, Wasseem |
| Abstract: | FDI is important in building a sustainable and diversified knowledge-based UAE economy. The stock of FDI grew at an average annual growth rate of 45.3 percent over the past decade reaching US$ 95 billion or nearly 27 percent of GDP in 2012. FDI flows have not recovered from the global financial crises. Most FDI stock is concentrated in finance, construction, and real estate. Recent greenfield FDI is concentrated in construction, while more than half of top M&A deals took place in finance, transportation, communications and utilities. The list of top OECD home countries for FDI flows to the UAE include Italy, Germany, Chile, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, France, United States, and Belgium. Though UAE investment policy limits foreign investment and reduces competition, the Government has undertaken reforms and contracted investment treaties that have encouraged investment. Efforts are under way to speed up the ratification of a new foreign investment law, which removes several of the current legal barriers to FDI and offers foreign investors similar rights to those of UAE nationals. The UAE has high FDI potential with plenty of room for improving FDI performance and benefiting the economy. |
| Keywords: | FDI; Outlook; UAE |
| JEL: | F21 F23 F53 |
| Date: | 2013–11–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:51810&r=ara |