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on MENA - Middle East and North Africa |
| By: | Gilles Dufrénot |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a new approach to quantify the demographic dividend and shows evidence of a demographic tax in the Arab countries in Transition (ACT). Our question is whether a shift in the age structure (a larger share of working-age population) is translated into less (more) efficient labor supply and demand and whether these in turn reduce (increase) per-capita GDP. We propose estimates based on stochastic frontier analysis and quantile regressions. We find several interesting results. First, we document the existence of a dividend gap for the ACT with unchanging inefficiency scores over time between 56% and 79% in Yemen, 35% on average in Egypt, between 4% and 23% in Tunisia, between 7% and 30% in Libya, between 6% and 21% in Jordan. Morocco in the only country showing a demographic dividend with an average 30% inefficiency score that decreases over time. Secondly, the variables that are sources of these inefficiencies are the gender gap (with a significant influence of female labor market participation), insufficient secured jobs (this variable carry a positive sign with GDP per-capita and has the largest size among of the coefficients in the regression), own-account employment (which can be considered as a proxy of the importance of the informal sector) and a low public spending in health. |
| Keywords: | Demographic Tax;Efficiency Score;Arab Countries;Stochastic Frontier;Quantile |
| JEL: | C31 J11 P51 |
| Date: | 2018–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cii:cepidt:2018-15&r=ara |
| By: | Douch, Mohamed; Solomon, Binyam |
| Abstract: | Arab Spring and the domestic unrest and the threat of terrorism that followed are not the main causes of the recent spike in military spending in the region, as the bulk of arms purchases have largely been conventional heavy weaponry, such as combat aircraft, armored vehicles, and missile systems. The results indicate that military spending in the MENA region does exhibit high income elasticity and status is further signaled through regional clubs such as the Arab League. MENA countries face substantial opportunity cost of military spending and only weakly respond to local threats. The so-called ‘resource curse’ is not a strong indicator of military posture in MENA especially within the neoclassical demand model setting and robust estimation that account for dynamics and endogeneity. |
| Keywords: | Threat; Nuclear arsenal, Demand for Military Expenditure; Middle East North Africa; Dynamic Panel Data; status; positional goods |
| JEL: | C23 H56 |
| Date: | 2017–10–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:88689&r=ara |
| By: | Mohammad Naushad (Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University); Mohammad Rishad Faridi (Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University); Syed Abdul Malik (Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the present study is twofold, to investigate the entrepreneurial intent of the university students and to chalk out with the factors (educational) to be considered for institutional support by the university under study. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) questionnaire was adopted and administered along with a separate sixteen items sheet containng the items pertaining to the institutional suppot mechanisms. Overall, 370 responses were collected from both male & female students. The Data was analysed by applying correlations, linear and hierarchical regression and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The results of the study reaffirm the theory of planned behaviour in Saudi context with a significant variance of 43.2 percent in explaining students' entrepreneurial intent. However, in the present case it is found that both attitude and perceived behavioral control are the significant predictors of entrepreneurial intent. Moreover, the subjective norm did not significantly predict the entrepreneurial intent. The findings also suggest a four steps generic model of institutional educational support for entrepreneurial nurturement to the local community. |
| Keywords: | Theory of Planned behaviour,Entrepreneurial intent,Economic Development,Al-Kharj region,Institutional Support |
| Date: | 2018–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01858554&r=ara |
| By: | Nasser Saad Al-Kahtani (Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University) |
| Abstract: | The aimed of this research paper is to explore the unfair human resource management (HRM) practices in the private telecom company located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The total 120 employees were selected randomly from two private telecom companies to gather the information about the unfair HRM practices for this research. A questionnaire that consists of biographical information blank and unfair HRM practices was administered to the employees to identify the unfair HRM practices. The questionnaire was validated using appropriate techniques and the level of unfair HRM practices among the sample was assessed. The results of the study have provided some interesting findings relevant to the current industries. The investigator has incorporated certain suggestion to implement fair HRM practices so as to create vibrancy and passion among the employees to perform effectively. |
| Keywords: | Telecom sector,Unfair HRM practices,construction and validation,Saudi Arabia |
| Date: | 2018–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01859321&r=ara |
| By: | Mehrjerdi, Mahla Zare; Mark, Tyler |
| Abstract: | Production resources are limited, world’s population is growing. One way to increase the production is to increase the area under cultivation, but this solution is not possible in all situations. Besides, increasing the cultivation area does not guarantee an increase in production. Another way is to increase the production is using more advanced machinery and production techniques. Wheat is the most strategic agricultural product in Iran. It forms the significant portion of Iranian diet. Policymakers have always been interested in new methods that can make the country independent of importing wheat. T reach this goal, it is essential to evaluate the productivity of wheat production. Using data from surveys done by Agriculture ministry of Iran, this study estimates the productivity of wheat production using a Cobb-Douglas production function in Tehran. The proposed method to estimate the productivity is Stochastic Frontier Production Function Model. The result suggests Farm size shows the highest marginal rate of productivity. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis |
| Date: | 2018–01–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea18:266774&r=ara |
| By: | Emine Zeytinli (University of Leicester) |
| Abstract: | "Great Britain was effective in influencing the Ottoman Empire with commercial interests. Anglo- Ottoman commercial practices strengthened diplomatic relations and early British merchants carried diplomatic mission as well through the British Levant Company. This ended by the 1820s with the abolishing of the Levant Company. British merchants operating in the Ottoman dominions increased after the second decade of the nineteenth century and Anglo-Ottoman Commercial Agreement of 1838 made a positive contribution to this increase in coming decades. Moreover, diplomatic missions extended to the inland trade and production centres. Donald Sandison was one of the British/Scottish merchants settled in Constantinople, the capital of Ottoman Empire and operated his commercial activities from the early nineteenth century. He established business partnership and provided protection to some local Christian and Armenians through the British Embassy. He was initially a representative of the British East India Company and later admitted to be a member of the British Levant Company in 1817 and therefore, he was one of the privileged freemen of the company prior to his consular post. Sandison was appointed salaried consul for Bursa with the liberty to trade after operating as a merchant for more than two decades. He acted as the first consul to Bursa, one of the earliest industrial city, between 1838 and 1868. Sandison’s consular post were very significant as Bursa was a caravan terminal for the silk trade route and a silk cultivation centre that provided domestic and international demand of raw silk and silk fabric. British existence at Bursa was important during the period of Sandison as reeling silk industry developed due to the demand from European weavers and appreciation of British silk textile products in Ottoman market. Sandison also was one of the foreign merchants provided technology and for the industry to local weavers and carried out trade between British and Ottoman market. British foreign policy to the Ottoman Empire was largely economic within the Commercial Convention of 1838 after 1840s shaped by the information of consuls in a certain city or region, it aimed to keep the post for long years to have reliable and continuous information. The role of consuls in the Levant was mainly observing commercial potential and agricultural production of the region or the city. They were both diplomatic and commercial agents providing these information for shaping commercial strategy of Britain for a particular region. Therefore, reports were essential for British manufacturing seeking raw materials from the Ottoman market or aiming to penetrate the Ottoman market with semi-finished or finished goods. This bibliographic study focuses on an oversea British community member at Constantinople as a merchant by the first quarter of the nineteenth century and then a prestigious position, consul of Bursa for the commercial interest of Great Britain by the second quarter. Therefore, his life history and professional career is analysed in two periods; the first period covers Sandison’s commercial operations as a merchant of the Levant Company in Constantinople after the second decade of the nineteenth century. His business was closely related with the economic and political fluctuations of the Ottoman Empire as well as operations of the British Levant Company. Dissolution of the Levant Company in 1825 and uprising and later abolition of military units called Janissaries in 1826 necessitated him to reshape and re-establish his business at the end of 1820s." |
| Keywords: | "Donald Sandison, British merchant, Levant Company, Consul, Bursa, trade." |
| JEL: | N00 |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehs:wpaper:18007&r=ara |
| By: | Agnès Paradas (UAPV - Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse); Marion Polgé (UM - Université de Montpellier) |
| Abstract: | This article questions the mixing women-men in SME (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) as a process of responsible commitment. It relies on a meaning of the word CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) according to which the choices of the manager are conditioned by his system of representations. Our grid of analysis permits to observe two different approaches of the joint mixing women-men/CSR : the case of Morocco and the case of France. We thus highlight the importance of each culture, but especially the geographical and structural context. |
| Abstract: | La problématique traitée dans cet article interroge sur la mixité femmes-hommes en PME en tant que processus d'engagement responsable. Elle est adossée à une accep-tion de la RSE (Responsabilité Sociétale de l'Entreprise) selon laquelle les choix du dirigeant sont conditionnés par son système de représentations. En utilisant une grille d'analyse, nous observons deux approches distinctes de l'articulation mixité femmes-hommes/RSE : le cas du Maroc et celui de la France. Nous mettons ainsi en évidence l'importance de chaque culture, mais surtout le contexte géographique et structurel. Mots-clés : mixité femmes-hommes, petite entreprise, interculturel, RSE, dirigeant. La Responsabilité Sociale des Entreprises (RSE) se déploie dans les entreprises occidentales depuis une quinzaine d'années. Elle influence les modes de gestion, en particulier la gestion des ressources humaines, et au sein de la GRH, la gestion de la diversité. La diversité préoccupe donc de façon croissante les gestionnaires. Elle revêt des réalités très différentes, au sein desquelles peut être identifiée la mixité hommes/femmes. Si les grandes |
| Keywords: | digitalisation process,remote management,network leader,multicultural team,culture change,mixité femmes-hommes,petite entreprise,interculturel,RSE,dirigeant. |
| Date: | 2016–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01865098&r=ara |
| By: | Aziza Benkada (Université Mohammed Premier [Oujda]); Mohammed Belouchi (Université Mohammed Premier [Oujda]); Assia Iallouchen (UAE - Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi); Mehdi Essarsar (UAE - Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi) |
| Abstract: | Au niveau territorial, la gouvernance constitue : « un périmètre ad hoc territorial et fonctionnel se détachant des découpages institutionnels légitimés, une procédure de coordination et de régulation, notamment pour une plus grande démocratie participative 1 », selon les termes de Claude Lacour. Les dispositifs de la gouvernance visent alors à renforcer la démocratie locale et la participation des citoyens dans la prise des décisions politiques. Dans toutes ces conditions, elle « donne accès à l'ensemble des droits humains pour que chacun puisse construire sa relation au monde », et permet à la société civile de prononcer activement ses intérêts. De la gouvernance politique à la gouvernance territoriale, la gouvernance financière occupe une place spécifique, notamment avec la question de partage des pouvoirs et des ressources financières entre l'Etat et les collectivités territoriales. En continuité des transitions institutionnelles de la décentralisation, la gouvernance financière présente un levier de changement, d'un système administratif décentralisé vers une situation de développement économique et social local. Dans le cadre de ce dispositif, les deux concepts : « gouvernance financière » et « gouvernance fiscale » sont étroitement interdépendants. En effet, la gouvernance financière envisage deux volets principaux. Elle reflète, dans le cadre de la gouvernance fiscale, l'étendue du pouvoir des collectivités territoriales d'élaborer et de gérer les impôts locaux. Puis, elle contourne les différents problèmes financiers à travers la mise en place de nouvelles modalités de contrôle et de partage des ressources financières, dans une optique de responsabilisation des acteurs locaux. L'adoption du projet de la régionalisation avancée, en 2015, s'inscrit dans un nouveau modèle de gouvernance et d'intelligence territoriale. Elle vise l'amélioration du rôle des régions, en ce qu'elle les rend l'échelon le plus convenable pour réaliser un développement territorial intégré. Pourtant, l'insuffisance des ressources financières par rapport aux compétences transférées aux régions reste la véritable contrainte susceptible de compliquer l'avancement de ce projet. La réussite de cette réforme nécessite, certes, la rénovation des approches budgétaires régionales. |
| Date: | 2018–07–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01858544&r=ara |