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on MENA - Middle East and North Africa |
| By: | Kazi Abdul, Mannan; Khandaker Mursheda, Farhana |
| Abstract: | This study examines the historical presence, ecological functions, and extinction of elephants in the Canaan region, encompassing modern-day Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, through an interdisciplinary zoological and forestry-based survey. Drawing on archaeological records, paleontological findings, historical texts, and ecological reconstructions, the research explores how elephants once inhabited and shaped the Levantine landscapes. The paper examines their role as keystone herbivores, their integration into regional cultures through trade, warfare, and symbolism, and their eventual disappearance due to climatic shifts, deforestation, and anthropogenic pressures. Cultural memory of elephants, preserved in religious scriptures and place names, offers insights into human–animal relations and the ecological consciousness of ancient societies. The study highlights how lessons from the extinction of elephants can inform current biodiversity strategies, forest management, and conservation outreach in the Levant. It also proposes future research directions, including ecological rewilding, public education, and regional conservation collaboration. By contextualising elephants within the broader environmental history of the region, the study underscores the importance of integrating lost megafauna into modern ecological narratives. |
| Keywords: | Elephant extinction, megafauna, ecological memory, habitat loss, historical ecology, forestry survey |
| JEL: | Q0 Q5 Q54 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125202 |
| By: | Bahmani-Oskooee, Mohsen; Halicioglu, Ferda |
| Abstract: | A new strand of literature in international economics is now in the early stages of development, i.e., the impact of exchange rate changes on service trade. We add to this literature by considering the link between the Turkish lira's real effective exchange rate and its trade in services. Since nonlinear adjustment of the exchange rate has proven to yield more significant outcomes relative to linear adjustment, we estimate a nonlinear model (assuming the effects are asymmetric) in addition to a linear model (which assumes the effects are symmetric). When we first estimated the models using Turkish aggregate trade in services, we could only find some short-run effects. However, we disaggregated the data into eight service categories to reduce aggregation bias. We then found short-run significant effects in all eight service industries. Short-run effects lasted into long-run effects in six industries. The unaffected industries were construction and transport. |
| Keywords: | Trade in Services, Real Effective Exchange Rate, Asymmetric Analysis, Turkey |
| JEL: | C22 F14 G20 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125454 |
| By: | Chan, Tiffanie; Soubeyran, Éléonore; Gannon, Kate; Heckwolf, Anika; Hizliok, Setenay; Cristancho-Duarte, Camila; Monsignori, Giorgia; Scheer, Antonina; Feyertag, Joseph; Higham, Catherine; Averchenkova, Alina; Vélez-Echeverri, Juliana |
| Abstract: | This submission draws on research conducted at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment to present eight key recommendations for Parties to the UNFCCC which address the priorities of the second dialogue of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) and relate to its three focus areas: Approaches for empowering all actors and segments of the society for a fair and inclusive workforce transition to meet Paris Agreement goals. Unpacking the full range of means of implementation (finance, technology and capacity building) for a just transition of the workforce: exploring current approaches, opportunities and gaps. International cooperation and partnerships for people-centric and equitable just transitions. |
| Keywords: | gender; workers; just transition; legislation; low-carbon transition; Ministries of Finance; NDC; UAE JTWP; UNFCCC |
| JEL: | R14 J01 E6 |
| Date: | 2024–10–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:129076 |
| By: | Kurtz, Gerrit |
| Abstract: | Der Krieg in Sudan, der am 15. April 2023 zwischen den Sudanesischen Streitkräften (SAF) und den paramilitärischen Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ausgebrochen ist, hat die größte humanitäre Krise der Welt ausgelöst. Zivilist:innen werden von den kriegführenden Parteien direkt angegriffen. Die Gewaltakteure zerstören zivile Infrastruktur und blockieren humanitäre Hilfe - dies ist Teil ihrer Kriegsstrategie. Einige gehen überdies gezielt gegen Angehörige einzelner Identitätsgruppen vor, auch auf ethnischer Basis. Gleichzeitig nehmen die Konfliktparteien für sich in Anspruch, die Zivilbevölkerung zu schützen. Internationale Bemühungen, die Zivilbevölkerung als solche oder besonders vulnerable Gruppen wirklich zu schützen, blieben bisher ohne durchschlagenden Erfolg. Rufe nach einer militärischen Intervention haben in der aktuellen Weltlage wenig Aussicht auf Erfolg. Tatsächlich verdienen die Bemühungen engagierter sudanesischer Bürger:innen, sich und andere um sich herum zu schützen, mehr Aufmerksamkeit und Unterstützung. Schutzanstrengungen können dazu beitragen, das Leid der Zivilbevölkerung zu mindern, auch wenn ein Ende des Krieges außer Reichweite bleibt. |
| Keywords: | Krieg in Sudan, humanitäre Krise in Sudan, Sudanesische Streitkräfte (SAF), Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Gewalt gegen Zivilisten, Flucht und Vertreibung, Vertriebenenlager Zam-Zam, Bundesstaat Al-Jazeera, Schutz der Zivilbevölkerung, Erklärung von Dschidda, Mission zum Schutz der Zivilbevölkerung, lokale Friedensbemühungen, Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), Schutzzonen |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpakt:321896 |
| By: | Delespesse, Elise; Martin-Shields, Charles |
| Abstract: | In recent years, Morocco has shifted from being primarily a country of transit and emigration to becoming a country of settlement. This evolution is largely driven by increased border restrictions and pushbacks, which have made migration routes to the EU less accessible. As a result, the city of Casablanca has become a hub of urban settlement instead of a transitional step in onward movement. Interviews conducted with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) working with urban migrants and displaced people in Casablanca highlighted ways that development cooperation can have a positive impact on urban migration contexts. Indeed, the more hands-off approach of local authorities in Casablanca when dealing with migrant communities contrasts with the aggressive policing common in Rabat and border areas, creating space for the establishment of informal migrant organisations in host communities. These organisations have become interlocutors with official institutions, playing a critical role in re-establishing migrants' and host communities' trust in official institutions. With CSO and NGO support, communities themselves have also found ways to build inclusion and cooperation. Islamic values and Moroccan tradition of hospitality influence the provision of common goods at the household and neighbourhood level. Hosts and migrants also legally benefit from education and health services provided by governmental and non-governmental organisations; the challenge lies in ensuring that all parties are aware of the services available to them, in many cases regardless of their immigration status. Still, the contemporary discourse around migration and displacement in Morocco is infused with xenophobia, exclusion and racism, problems compounded by a media environment highly critical of migrants and displaced people. However, experts underlined the impact of repeated positive interactions between migrant and host communities in tempering hostile rhetoric. Key policy messages: • Health, education, and housing are universal needs for both host communities and migrants. Ensure that funded programmes are available to everyone who lives in the neighbourhood, host or migrant, and that these are common goods around which community identity can be built. • Communicating the history of migration in areas of arrival is critical. These histories can help international organisations contextualise their programming and make immigration and settlement part of a wider story that inclusive identity can be built around. • Build cooperation between city- and municipal-level organisations nationally. City-to-city cooperation can fill knowledge gaps about national migration policy and reduce duplication of efforts by CSOs and NGOs who work with migrants. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Displacement, Borders, Social Cohesion, Casablanca, Morocco |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:idospb:323250 |
| By: | Tolga Benzer (Turku School of Economics, University of Turku); Janne Tukiainen (Turku School of Economics, University of Turku) |
| Abstract: | We examine whether anti-establishment outsider movements can leverage education and youth mobilization to build long-run political power. We study the expansion of state-run religious secondary schools in 1970s Turkiye and show that access to these schools catalyzed the emergence of Islamist youth organizations, which played a central role in ideological formation, grassroots mobilization, and the eventual electoral success of the Islamist movement. Using a novel dataset and a difference-in-differences framework, we show that access to religious schools increased the local presence of Islamist youth organizations in the short run and boosted Islamist party vote share in the medium run. Effects were strongest where youth branches formed soon after school access and engaged in ideologically immersive activities. Individual-level survey evidence shows that exposed male cohorts were more religious and more likely to engage in Islamist party politics later in life. Our findings illustrate how schools and youth organizations—when strategically aligned—can serve as a foundation for enduring political transformation, not only for ruling elites but also for outsider movements seeking to gain power. |
| Keywords: | Schools, Outsider movements, Party youth organizations, Elections, Religion |
| JEL: | D71 D72 I28 P16 P52 Z12 Z13 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tkk:dpaper:dp171 |