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on MENA - Middle East and North Africa |
| By: | Furness, Mark; Houdret, Annabelle |
| Abstract: | State-society relations are in flux across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), nearly a decade after the Arab uprisings. The protests and revolts that swept the region in 2011 arose from widespread rejection of the post-independence Arab social contracts. These were based on redistribution of rents from natural resources and other forms of transfers and subsidies, as "compensation" for acquiescence to political and economic authoritarianism. In several MENA countries, including Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen, but also in Algeria, Lebanon and Palestine, the old social contracts have been destroyed by civil conflicts and internationally sponsored wars, which in some cases predated the 2011 uprisings. Since broken social contracts are at the root of conflict in the MENA region, supporting new social contracts should be the core objective of development cooperation with the region's most conflict-affected countries. But "post-conflict reconstruction" often ignores the fact that conflicts do not end with peace agreements, and conflict-affected societies need more than reconstructed infrastructure, institutional capacity and private sector investment if they are to avoid violence in the future. Development agencies term this kind of cooperation "resilience": promoting political, economic, social and environmental stability, rather than risking uncontrollable, revolutionary transformation. However, resilience has often provided cover for short-term measures aimed at preserving the position of particular actors and systems. Development cooperation needs to get beyond reconstruction and resilience approaches that often fail to foster the long-term stability they promise. By focussing on the social contract, development cooperation with conflict-affected countries can provide a crucial link between peacebuilding, reconstruction and longer-term socioeconomic and political development. It can thereby contribute not only to short-term, but also to long-term, sustainable stability. Using the social contract as an analytical lens can increase understanding not only of what donors should avoid doing, but also where they should concentrate their engagement during transitions from civil war. Practical examples from challenging contexts in the MENA region suggest that donors can make positive contributions in support of new social contracts when backing (a) stakeholder dialogues, (b) governance and reforms, and (c) socioeconomic inclusion. In Libya, the socioeconomic dialogue process has brought stakeholders together to outline a new economic vision for the country. The Municipal Development Programme in Palestine focusses on improving the accountability and delivery of local institutions. The Moroccan Economic, Social and Environmental Council provides an example of a process that engages previously marginalised groups. These programmes are all examples of targeted efforts to build cooperation among the groups that make up MENA societies. They aim to broaden decision-making processes, and to increase the impact of specific measures with the ultimate objective of improving state-society relations. They could be adapted for other fragile contexts, with external support. In backing more of these kinds of activities, donors could make stronger contributions to sustainable, long-term peace- and state-building processes in conflict-affected MENA countries. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:diebps:72020&r=all |
| By: | Ekundayo P. Mesagan (Pan Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria.); Chidi N. Olunkwa (University of Lagos, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the effects of energy consumption and capital investment on environmental degradation in selected African countries between 1981 and 2017 using panel cointegration approaches. The Fully Modified and the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares results affirm that energy consumption positively affects carbon emissions in Algeria, Nigeria, Morocco, and in the panel. At the same time, both also confirm that capital investment positively and significantly impacts carbon emissions in the region. Again, results show that capital investment augments energy use to reduce carbon emissions in Africa significantly. This implies that capital investment can provide needed impetus to reduce environmental degradation in the continent. The study, therefore, recommends that African countries should focus on energy conservation policies to reduce the adverse effect of energy use on carbon emissions. |
| Keywords: | Electricity Consumption, Capital investment, Environmental Degradation, Africa |
| JEL: | Q40 Q42 Q43 Q54 Q57 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:exs:wpaper:20/022&r=all |
| By: | Ataeian, Shervin; Mostafavi, Alireza; Nabiloo, Roya |
| Abstract: | The fixed route shared taxi, known as Jitney, is one of the common modes in paratransit services and covers a significant proportion of daily trips in some developing countries, including Iran. Such system, despite its disadvantages to transportation networks, has always been the most feasible solution to overcome the shortcoming in public transit supply. As a result, it has formed users’ travel habits over the decades. Therefore, it is not possible to remove or replace Jitney lines with standard services suddenly but gradually. Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of a comprehensive method to analyze and evaluate Jitney lines neither in the literature nor in practice. In this paper, first, to fill the gap in the literature, we develop a coherent framework to analyze the performance of fixed route shared taxi lines. This framework includes several indices that make it possible to rank and classify Jitney lines from different aspects. Second, to examine the applicability of the proposed framework, we apply it to the network of taxi lines in the metropolis of Tehran. The results prove that the framework is not only applicable in measuring the system performance, but it also provides decision-makers with decision criteria to choose improvement plans or alternatives. |
| Keywords: | Fixed Route Shared Taxi, Jitney, Paratransit, Performance Analysis, Performance Index, Decision Criteria. |
| JEL: | L91 |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:99871&r=all |
| By: | Abdelatif Kerzabi (Université de Tlemcen - Université de Tlemcen) |
| Abstract: | La rente est une catégorie de la répartition dont l'appropriation est liée aux rapports de propriété sur une ressource naturelle. En Algérie, la rente provient de l'écart entre le cout d'extraction des hydrocarbures et leur valeur sur le marché mondial. La redistribution de cette rente par l'Etat passe par les dépenses publiques (salaires, subventions, soutien des prix, infrastructures, logements….). Sauf que ces dépenses n'arrivent pas à enclencher la croissance économique. Où sont les contraintes? |
| Date: | 2020–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02546403&r=all |
| By: | World Bank Group |
| Keywords: | Communities and Human Settlements - Urban Housing and Land Settlements Finance and Financial Sector Development - Housing Finance Urban Development - National Urban Development Policies & Strategies Urban Development - Urban Governance and Management Urban Development - Urban Housing |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:31622&r=all |
| By: | Keita, Moussa |
| Abstract: | Based on the social accounting matrix of the Tunisian economy, this study provides an analytical framework for analyzing the impact of sectoral economic policies on job creation. The aim is to identify some strategic axes for public policies. The analytical framework is built on a Walrassian computable general equilibrium model by taking into account the role of the government, an agent able of influencing the decisions of private agents (by incentive or by intervention) according to public objectives of growth, stabilization, etc. In this framework, we have been able to simulate and analyze the effect of a set of instruments called economic policy. |
| Keywords: | Equilibre général, MEGC, employ, politiques économiques |
| JEL: | C3 E1 E2 E3 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:99814&r=all |
| By: | Olivier GAJAC (Université Galatasaray, Département de Sociologie, Istanbul (Turquie)); Selin PELEK (Université Galatasaray, Département d’Economie, Istanbul (Turquie)) |
| Abstract: | The emergence of solidarity economy initiatives in Turkey calls us more generally to question the relationship between the actors of social entrepreneurship and the public authorities, and more particularly, the way that they evolve in an unfavourable ecosystem. If history reminds us that the actors of social entrepreneurship (foundations, cooperatives and associations) in Turkey have suffered from recurrent political instability, and that they have more or less deviated from the legal essence of their vocation, we would like to better understand solidarity economy initiatives in an ecosystem marked by the decline of rights and freedoms. Consequently, our aim here is to question the Western conception of civil society based on an ideal of solidarity linked to a process of individualisation and allowing individuals to move from the private to the public sphere, and to raise the question of its conversion in areas where the conditions for its emergence would not be found. To do this, we relied on research based on several field surveys carried out between September 2017 and September 2019 in six sectors (short food circuits, alternative education, self-construction, popular university, help to refugees, as well as collective catering and culture). These data allow us to claim that solidarity economy initiatives are taking up issues in order to meet expectations, aspirations and more justice compared to society market and state structures. Secondly, it emerges that they also do not renounce the principles of law and freedom of the rule of law in modern democratic societies. On the contrary, their more horizontal functioning than traditional civil society organizations calls for a participatory democracy that would promote a process of emancipation of individuals, even of those historically rooted in village community membership. Finally, if the ecosystem still does not seem inclined to recognise solidarity economy initiatives as implementations of public action, their mode of self-organisation, based on a principle of reciprocity, does not lock itself into an organisational vision. Conversely, by inserting themselves into a mutualism of sectoral (or intersectoral at the local level) networks, solidarity economy initiatives tend to demonstrate both the viability of their economic model and their capacity to instil civic governance with positive externalities in terms of local development. |
| Keywords: | Solidarity Economy; Reciprocity; Social Networks; Otherness Ecosystem |
| JEL: | L3 |
| Date: | 2020–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crc:wpaper:2002&r=all |
| By: | Yen Kim Thi Le (UR CERES - Institut Catholique de Toulouse); Marie-Christine Monnoyer (UR CERES - Institut Catholique de Toulouse) |
| Abstract: | Notre recherche montre le rôle de l'entrepreneuriat social dans la transformation des « territoires oubliés » en « milieux socialement innovateurs » comme une réponse à la lutte contre la pauvreté. La pauvreté (Sen, 1999) est la privation de la liberté de choisir et de mener une vie décente comme chacun l'entend. Pour y répondre, l'acquisition des capacités individuelles ne suffit pas. Il faut aussi augmenter les capacités collectives et passer par un développement territorial qui prend en compte à la fois les questions économique, sociale, environnementale, etc. Nous proposons un concept qui prolonge celui des « milieux innovateurs » (développé par le GREMI) et que nous appelons « les milieu socialement innovateurs ». Les entreprises sociales grâce à leur mission, leur modèle d'affaires et leur management, jouent le rôle de « catalyseur » pour rendre le développement des territoires non seulement plus innovant mais aussi plus inclusif. Notre étude comparative entre le Maroc et le Vietnam permet d'apporter les éclairages quant à la différence de ce rôle en fonction des spécificités de chaque pays. Mots clés : entreprise sociale, milieu socialement innovateur, lutte contre la pauvreté, territoires oubliés, pays émergents. 2 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02540155&r=all |
| By: | Moustafa, Khaled |
| Abstract: | التطور العلمي والمعرفة الإنسانية هما حصيلة تفاعل وتراكم الأفكار والجهود الإنسانية لكل البشر على مر العصور. والمؤسسات التعليمية على اختلاف مستوياتها، بدءاً من المراحل الابتدائية إلى الجامعة، هي أهم دعائم ذلك التطور، اعتماداً على مناهج تعليمية جادة ومكملة لبعضها بعضاً، ومنبثقة من حاجات المجتمع، بجهود معلمين مهرة وأكفاء مُدرّبين تدريباً عالياً ومتواصلاً، بما يساهم في تعزيز قدرات الطلاب الذهنية والتفكيرية والإبداعية، مع محاولة الربط الدائم بين النظرية والتطبيق، بين النقد البنّاء واحترام وجهات نظر الآخرين، والتمييز بين المصلحة العامة والخاصة، وتغليب الأولى على الثانية، وإنشاء معاهد أو جامعات عربية في بلدان أجنبية متطورة، كصلة وصل بينها وبين الدول العربية للاستفادة من خبرات الدول التي قطعت أشواطاً طويلة في هذا المجال، مثلاً إنشاء جامعة بغداد في لندن للعلوم الطبية، وجامعة دمشق في باريس للعلوم الزراعية وجامعة القاهرة في واشنطن لعلوم الحاسب، إلخ، بحيث يتم التدريس فيها بمناهج مترجمة إلى العربية من إحدى الجامعات المحلية في بريطانيا وفرنسا وأمريكا، على غرار الجامعة الأمريكية في بيروت أو القاهرة أو كثير من الجامعات الأمريكية في دول الخليج، التي تدرس مناهجها باللغة الإنكليزية |
| Date: | 2020–04–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:arabix:uvn9t&r=all |