|
on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Samantak Das |
| Abstract: | The present study shows that informal barriers/para-tariff in India-Bangladesh trade are already high and further trade liberalisation without improving the infrastructure and reducing corruption would be counter productive.[Working Paper No. 92] |
| Keywords: | globalised, international borders, liberalisation, India-Bangladesh, infrastructure, productive |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2560&r=cwa |
| By: | Mandira Sarma; Yuko Nikaido |
| Abstract: | In this paper an analytical review of the capital adequacy regime and the present state of capital to risk-weighted asset ratio (CRAR) of the banking sector in India has been presented. In the current regime of Basel I, Indian banking system is performing reasonably well, with an average CRAR of about 12 per cent, which is higher than the internationally accepted level of 8 per cent as well as India’s own minimum regulatory requirement of 9 per cent. As the revised capital adequacy norms, Basel II, are being implemented from March 2008, several issues emerge. These issues from the Indian perspective has been examined.[Working Paper No. 196] |
| Keywords: | Capital Adequacy Ratio, Basel I, Basel II, Reserve Bank of India, SMEs lending |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2559&r=cwa |
| By: | Mayank Wadhwa |
| Abstract: | Agricultural markets in India have been regulated since 1928 with the inception of the "Royal Commission of Agriculture." Policy intervention in agriculture was virtually absent till the Bengal Famine of 1943, in which more than a million people died. The famine provided a major impetus for formulation of a comprehensive food policy in India. The Food Policy Committee which was set up after the disaster, suggested an interventionist government policy in the food grain market. Intervention began in the form of administrative controls, monopoly procurement schemes and public distribution, but it now encompasses a wide array of restrictive tools. This was done on the premise that private trade would function efficiently in normal periods but in periods of drought and crop failure, the profit motive would lead them to hoard supplies and earn abnormal profits. Ever since, the Indian government has followed a policy of de-control and re-control of agricultural markets.Thus this paper talks about restrictions imposed on marketing and movement of agricultural goods in India.[Working Paper No. 0009] |
| Keywords: | Agricultural markets, Royal Commission, famine, food policy, comprehensive, disaster, encompasses, drought, crop failure, hoard supplies, agriculture, Bengal, famine, goods, India |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2569&r=cwa |
| By: | Vibodh Parthasarathi |
| Abstract: | The paper excavates how the advent of commercial audiography, through 'Recording Expeditions' between 1902 and 1907, shaped configurations of the nascent business in, and culture around, 'music on record'. It will weigh the evolving nature of colonial imprints on these configurations by scrutinising three sites: the production of music, including the kinds of business practices shaping it; the popularisation of commodities and ideas through advertising and the meaning accorded to this 'new media' in the everyday life of early 20th century India. [WP No. 02/2008]. |
| Keywords: | music, colonial, media, commodities, culture, productin, advertising, business, India, asia, history, Indian, scholarship, entrepreneurship, entertainment, human activity |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2573&r=cwa |
| By: | Deininger, Klaus; Goyal, Aparajita; Nagarajan, Hari |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether and to what extent amendments in inheritance legislation impact women's physical and human capital investments, using disaggregated household level data from India. The authors use inheritance patterns over three generations of individuals to assess the impact of changes in the Hindu Succession Act that grant daughters equal coparcenary birth rights in joint family property that were denied to daughters in the past. The causal effect is isolated by exploiting the variation in the timing of father's death to compare within household bequests of land given to sons and daughters in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The analysis shows that the amendment significantly increased daughters'likelihood to inherit land, but that even after the amendment substantial bias persists. The results also indicate a robust increase in educational attainment of daughters, suggesting an alternative channel of wealth transfer. |
| Keywords: | Gender and Law,Population Policies,Gender and Health,Population&Development,Economic Theory&Research |
| Date: | 2010–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5338&r=cwa |
| By: | Tapasvi Puwar; Parvathy Sankara Raman; Dileep Mavalankar |
| Abstract: | Background- India accounts for 22% (117,000) of all maternal deaths in the world and 62% of all maternal deaths in South Asia. Death registration in India is patchy, and the number of maternal deaths is under-reported in the country. To know the correct estimates of maternal mortality, it is important to understand the current maternal death-registration system and reasons for under reporting. Methodology- This qualitative study was conducted during June-August 2008 and analyzed maternal deaths occurred during April 2007.March 2008. To understand the current reporting system of maternal deaths, semi-structured interviews were conducted with all the concerned officials. Forms and formats relating to death registration and registers containing information on deaths in the villages and towns were studied. Deaths of women in reproductive age group (15-49), reported by the district for the same year were also analyzed. Analysis of 15 verbal autopsy forms filled by the Medical Officers and Block Health Officers was also carried out using Epi Info software. Results- The District Health Office reported 31,741 live births and 15 maternal deaths for 2007-2008. It was estimated that a minimum of 82 maternal deaths would have occurred during the same period in the district based on corrected estimate of MMR for Gujarat state by SRS 2003. Five maternal deaths were not reported by the district but were reported by the block health office, showing the lack of coordination. Only one death was reported from an urban area having 13,702 live births for the same year meaning MMR of 7.3 per 100,000 live births for urban areas. The other maternal death from urban area was reported by the civil registration system but was not reported by the district health department, showing lack of coordination between the two systems. Discussion with Anganwadi workers revealed pressure from higher officials for not reporting maternal deaths. District reported 231 deaths of women in reproductive age group against 665 expected deaths in the same age group. Conclusion- The results indicate that there is an urgent need to have a nodal person, at the district level for documenting and reporting maternal mortality. This will improve enumeration and reporting of maternal deaths. There is also an urgent need for creating awareness for registration of maternal deaths in the community and private doctors. Health centres should be encouraged to report correct numbers of maternal deaths. |
| Date: | 2009–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:wp2009-06-01&r=cwa |
| By: | Aysit Tansel (Department of Economics, Middle East Technical University); H. Mehmet Tasci |
| Abstract: | There is little evidence on unemployment duration and its determinants in developing countries. This study is on the duration aspect of unemployment in a developing country, Turkey. We analyze the determinants of the probability of leaving unemployment for employment or the hazard rate. The effects of the personal and household characteristics and the local labor market conditions are examined. The analyses are carried out for men and women separately. The results indicate that the nature of unemployment in Turkey exhibits similarities to the unemployment in both the developed and the developing countries. |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:521&r=cwa |
| By: | Hasan Ersel (Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey) |
| Abstract: | For many observers, Turkey’s performance during the “2007+ global financial crisis”1 was puzzling. In the first half of the 2009, Turkey was one of the worst affected countries in the world. In addition, the Turkish government was too slow to react, and the measures taken seemed inadequate. The purpose of this paper is to answer the following two questions: First, why was Turkey affected so much by the crisis? And second, why was the government’s reaction late and “less than adequate”? The paper is organized as follows: In the following section the concept of vulnerability is briefly discussed. The second section is devoted to another methodological issue. Here a simple framework is introduced to analyze the channels and the manner in which a shock such as the 2007+ crisis affects an economy. In the third section, Turkey’s experience with the 2001 crisis is discussed. The purpose of this section is to give some historical insight to explain why the government was confident (even overconfident) of Turkey’s resiliency. The fourth section briefly surveys the developments in the Turkish economy after it was hit by the global crisis in the last quarter of 2008. In the fifth section, in the light of these discussions, the government’s reaction is analyzed. In this section the emphasis is on the uncertainty that the 2007+ crisis had created. Therefore it is assumed that the government was taking decisions under complete uncertainty. A simple framework is introduced to show that a rationale can be attributed to the government’s behavior. The paper concludes with the evaluation of the government’s decisions. |
| Date: | 2010–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:520&r=cwa |
| By: | Canan Yildirim (Kadir Has University) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the role of moral hazard and corporate governance structures in bank failures within the context of the 2000-2001 currency and financial crises experienced in Turkey. The findings suggest that poor performers with lower earnings potential and managerial quality, and hence lower franchise value, were more likely to respond to moral hazard incentives provided by the regulatory failures and full coverage deposit insurance system. The findings also suggest that ownership and control variables are significantly related to the probability of failure. Privately owned Turkish commercial banks were more likely to fail. Moreover, among the privately owned Turkish commercial banks, the existence of family involvement on the board increased the probability of failure. |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:486&r=cwa |
| By: | Djavad Salehi-Isfahani (Department of Economics, Virginia Tech University) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a comparative study of private returns to schooling in Egypt, Iran, and Turkey using similar survey data and a uniform methodology. We employ three surveys for each country that span nearly two decades, ranging from 1987 to 2006. Our aim is to learn from survey data about the signals of rewards that individuals use in their decisions to invest in education. So we pay special attention to differences across countries and over time in the institutions of education and labor markets, and how these differences might be related to the observed patterns of rewards to education. We find a fair amount of consistency in the patterns of returns between the countries, as well as important differences that suggest the influence of institutions. We find that returns to education increase in years of schooling in all three countries, as one would expect in countries with relatively rigid labor markets, where heavy emphasis on higher terminal degrees reduce the value of basic education. Private returns to tertiary relative to upper secondary and vocational education are high, confirming that university education is highly attractive in these countries. Low returns to vocational training relative to general upper secondary, which have been observed in many developing countries, are true in Egypt and Iran, but not Turkey. We attempt to reconcile these facts with the institutional features of the countries and changes over time. |
| Date: | 2009–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:504&r=cwa |
| By: | Raghbendra Jha; Raghav Gaiha; Manoj K. Pandey |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the important but relatively neglected issue of real income transfers, net of the opportunity cost of time, under India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. We use representative household level primary data for three states, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to depict various individual and social characteristics of the population in these states as well as those of the participants in the NREGS. We also model the stochastic dominance comparisons of the log of per capita monthly expenditures of participants with and without alternative employment opportunities in the absence of NREG as well as the determinants of such opportunities. As an approximate measure of the net transfer benefits under NREGS, we consider shares of NREG earnings net of the opportunity cost of time in household income net of NREG earnings net of the opportunity cost of time. The distribution of such net transfers across household characteristics as well as the distribution of benefits across villages in the three states are also discussed. In general net transfers under the NREGS are quite modest. |
| Keywords: | National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Net Transfer benefit, stochastic dominance |
| JEL: | C31 D33 D60 J21 J23 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:asarcc:2010-12&r=cwa |
| By: | Ozan Bakis (Department of Economics, Galatasaray University); Nurhan Davutyan; Haluk Levent; Sezgin Polat |
| Abstract: | This paper studies local human capital externalities and returns to education in Turkey. Data comes from 2006 Household Labor Survey. Instrumental Variables-OLS estimation indicates internal (external) returns amounting to 4.9% (2.4%), while IV estimates using quantile regression range from 3% to 6.9% (1.3% to 3.5%). We discuss further characteristics of the Turkish labor market segmented by gender and show that external returns are uniformly higher for women. Our results also indicate both internal and external returns increase or equivalently the wage distribution spreads out as education increases. |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:517&r=cwa |
| By: | Nicoletta Batini (University of Surrey and IMF); Vasco Gabriel (University of Surrey); Paul Levine (University of Surrey); Joseph Pearlman (London Metropolitan University) |
| Abstract: | We first develop a two-bloc model of an emerging open economy interacting with the rest of the world calibrated using Indian and US data. The model features a financial accelerator and is suitable for examining the effects of financial stress on the real economy. Three variants of the model are highlighted with increasing degrees of financial frictions. The model is used to compare two monetary interest rate regimes: domestic Inflation targeting with a floating exchange rate (FLEX(D)) and a managed exchange rate (MEX). Both rules are characterized as a Taylor-type interest rate rules. MEX involves a nominal exchange rate target in the rule and a constraint on its volatility. We find that the imposition of a low exchange rate volatility is only achieved at a significant welfare loss if the policymaker is restricted to a simple domestic in- flation plus exchange rate targeting rule. If on the other hand the policymaker can implement a complex optimal rule then an almost fixed exchange rate can be achieved at a relatively small welfare cost. This finding suggests that future research should examine alternative simple rules that mimic the fully optimal rule more closely. JEL Classification: E52, E37, E58 |
| Keywords: | DSGE model, Indian economy, monetary interest rate rules, floating versus managed exchange rate, financial frictions. |
| JEL: | E52 E37 E58 |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sur:surrec:0410&r=cwa |
| By: | Ebru Voyvoda (Department of Economics, Middle East Technical University, Turkey) |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to analyze the patterns of structural and technological movements in the post-1980 Turkish economy. This period is known to span the overall transformation of the Turkish economy from domestic demand-oriented import substitutionist industrialization to one with export-orientation and integration with the global commodity and financial markets. What was theoretically expected from the process of outward orientation, was that as the economy would be exposed to more competition and technological know-how in the global markets and rapid gains in productivity would be converted into an engine of growth through technological improvements. It is the purpose of this paper to analytically depict and decompose the output movements in Turkey from 1980 onwards. By doing so, it becomes possible to observe whether trade orientation has been (one of) the major stimulating factors of output growth. To this end, this study uses input-output tables and employs Structural Decomposition Analysis to decompose the output change in the economy into the fraction attributable to changes in technology, the fraction attributable to import penetration in intermediate demand and the fractions attributable to level and composition of final demand, both in terms of its domestic and foreign components. |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:507&r=cwa |
| By: | Lanjouw, Peter; Rao, Vijayendra |
| Abstract: | Standard approaches to decomposing how much group differences contribute to inequality rarely show significant between-group inequality, and are of limited use in comparing populations with different numbers of groups. This study applies an adaptation to the standard approach that remedies these problems to longitudinal household data from two Indian villages -- Palanpur in the north, and Sugao in the west. The authors find that in Palanpur the largest scheduled caste group failed to share in the gradual rise in village prosperity. This would not have emerged from standard decomposition analysis. However, in Sugao the alternative procedure did not yield any additional insights because income gains applied relatively evenly across castes. |
| Keywords: | Inequality,Rural Poverty Reduction,Poverty Impact Evaluation,Equity and Development,Services&Transfers to Poor |
| Date: | 2010–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5337&r=cwa |
| By: | Raghav Gaiha; Raghbendra Jha; Vani S. Kulkarni |
| Abstract: | We have constructed a composite indicator of anthropometric failure (CIAF) that refines the Waterlow-3 tier classification, using a recent nation-wide household survey. The CIAF and its disaggregation into subcategories of undernourished 5 years old children reveal a grimmer story of child undernutrition than conventional anthropometric indicators do. Besides, simultaneous occurrence of anthropometric failures (e.g. stunting and underweight, and stunting, wasting and underweight) is pervasive. Our analysis of determinants of CIAF yields some new insights-specifically, the important role of food prices. Investigation of the links between different anthropometric failures and prevalence of infectious diseases (viz. Diarrhoea and acute respiratory infection), however, offers some justification for the disaggregated classification of undernourished children used here. Specifically, those with more than one failure were worse-off in this respect than children with no failure. There is a strong case for income growth together with food price stabilisation in curbing child undernutrition. Education has the desired effect but it is less strong than expected. Improvement in the quality of home environment makes a difference too but it is not conditional on income or wealth alone. |
| Keywords: | stunting, wasting, underweight, poverty, infectious diseases, and mortality |
| JEL: | D12 D60 I10 I31 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:asarcc:2010-11&r=cwa |
| By: | Rana , Tariq Mehmood; Salaria, M. Rashid; Herani, Gobind M.; Amin, Mohammad |
| Abstract: | The objective of this study is to know about the practices of Telecom industry, regarding their employees and to know how they keep up with the intense competition in the industry. The study focuses on factors effecting employees’ turnover and those that factors play an important role in retaining the employees of Telecom industry. The universe of this study was all the employees of Telecom industry in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. For this purpose survey method was used by using questionnaire as a tool for data collection. The results have shown that Salary, Working environment and Benefits are three significant factors effecting employees’ turnover and correlated with each other. The study was faced by certain limitations, which include time constraints and resources constraints, which limit this research to only Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore offices of the organizations in telecom industry of Pakistan. The present study found support for an independent variable with Employees turnover. Significant negative correlations have been found for the Salary, Work environment and Benefits. Therefore, organizations need to focus on how to develop better Salary plan and reduce strain in the workplace. If staff voluntarily leaves, it is a great loss to the telecom industry. It is expensive to hire, train, and “bring up to speed” new replacements. It is, therefore, important to understand the antecedents of turnover intent of employees before they decide to quit. |
| Keywords: | Employee’s Turnover; Telecom Industry; Pakistan; Factors. |
| JEL: | J63 I28 |
| Date: | 2009–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:23361&r=cwa |
| By: | Ila Patnaik; Ajay Shah; Anmol Sethy; Vimal Balasubramaniam |
| Abstract: | Prior to the Asian financial crisis, most Asian exchange rates were de facto pegged to the US Dollar. In the crisis, many economies experienced a brief period of extreme flexibility. A `fear of floating' gave reduced flexibility when the crisis subsided, but flexibility after the crisis was greater than that seen prior to the crisis. Contrary to the idea of a durable Bretton Woods II arrangement, Asia then went on to slowly raise flexibility and reduce the role for the US Dollar. When the period from April 2008 to December 2009 is compared against periods of high in flexibility, from January 1991 to November 1991 and October 1995 to March 1997, the increase in flexibility is economically and statistically significant. This paper proposes a new measure of dollar pegging, the \Bretton Woods II score". [NIPFP WP No. 69]. |
| Keywords: | flexibility, korea, economically, Exchange rate regime, Asia, Bretton Woods II hypothesis, dollar, pegging, US, Asia, financial crisis, china, India, macroeconomic policy, monetary policy |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2582&r=cwa |
| By: | M. Hakan Berument (Department of Economics, Bilkent University); N. Nergiz Dincer; Zafer Mustafaoglu |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between growth and growth volatility for a small open economy with high growth volatility: Turkey. Quarterly data for the period from 1987Q1 to 2007Q3 suggests that growth volatility reduces growth and that this result is robust under different specifications. This paper contributes to the literature by focusing on how growth volatility affects a set of variables that are crucial for growth. Empirical evidence from Turkey suggests that higher growth volatility reduces total factor productivity, investment, and the foreign currency value of local currency (depreciation). Moreover, employment increases, however the evidence for this is not statistically significant. |
| Date: | 2010–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:528&r=cwa |
| By: | Ali T. Akarca (Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago); Cem Baslevent (Department of Economics, Bilgi University) |
| Abstract: | Using data drawn from a nationwide voter-tendencies survey conducted shortly before the July 2007 parliamentary election in Turkey, inter-party vote movements during the 2002-2007 period are investigated with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as the focal point. A descriptive analysis relying on two and four-way partitions of the dataset reveals that, in comparison to the relatively small group of ‘deserters’ from the party, the ‘newcomers’ to the AKP are younger, mostly female, more satisfied with the performance of the economy, and more likely to be pro-EU membership. The data also shows that AKP supporters are less educated and less concerned with the threats to secularism than the rest of the voters. The key finding of the econometric work is that economic evaluations—especially retrospective ones— have a strong association with the party choice in the 2007 elections. |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:509&r=cwa |
| By: | Ridha Nouira; Patrick Plane; Khalid Sekkat (Université Libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B), Belgium) |
| Abstract: | Recent literature suggests that a proactive strategy consisting of deliberate real exchange rate depreciation can promote exports diversification and growth. This paper is built on these recent developments and investigates whether four developing countries have adopted such a strategy. Data from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia are used to construct and compare the macroeconomic real effective exchange rate (REER), similar exchange rates at the sector level (SREER) and the macroeconomic Equilibrium Real Effective exchange rate (EREER). It shows that there are instances where the objective of diversifying exports through depreciation of exchange rate comes at the expense of further misalignment (REER departs from the EREER) and, then, monetary authorities are doomed to choose. The results show that Morocco and Tunisia are choosing the proactive exchange rate strategy while Egypt and Jordan are not. This fits with the observation that the former are doing much better than the latter in terms of exports diversification. |
| Date: | 2010–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:510&r=cwa |
| By: | Jeffrey B. Nugent (University of Southern California); Abla M. Abdel-Latif (Economics Department, The American University in Cairo) |
| Abstract: | The main objectives of this study are: (1) to quantify the amounts of both trade creation and trade diversion in each of the countries involved, (2) to explain why the effects especially in Jordan have been much larger than one might have expected and seemingly larger than those in Egypt even though Egypt may have had a stronger comparative advantage in such exports than Jordan, and (3) to identify and explain those effects other than on trade, such as in attracting FDI, developing local entrepreneurship, encouraging female labor force participation, developing linkages to firms outside the QIZ and on broader trade and industrial policies. We shall also try to identify policy and other changes that might have allowed these effects to be more positive and stronger than they actually were. Because of the longer experience with the Jordanian QIZs, somewhat more emphasis is placed on the Jordanian data and more detailed statistical analysis were possible. But the Egyptian case is also illustrative, especially for looking at the differential benefits on firms of different size, diversity and sophistication of product lines and benefits accruing to Egypt from attracting Turkish investments. |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:514&r=cwa |
| By: | Zaki, Chahir; Hendy, Rana |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at evaluating the liberalization policies effects on inequality in Egypt with respect to gender, region and qualification level. No previous studies in Egypt, to our best knowledge, have used the Microsimulation analysis which is a good tool that allows such an evaluation and determines the redistribution aspects of macro policies. The latter consists of linking macroeconomic changes to the micro level of the economy i.e. the individual level. A Computable General Equilibrium model (CGE) is first estimated for a maximum tariff rate of 10%. And, wages and employment changes resulted from the CGE are replicated, in a second stage, into our micro data. Results show that liberalization policies have important impacts on inequalities among the Egyptian population in general. Inequality has decreased among males and females as well as among different regions of the Egyptian society but has increased among high-skilled and low-skilled workers. Results of the present research have important policy implications that have to be considered. |
| Keywords: | Trade liberalization; Egypt; CGE |
| JEL: | F16 J01 D58 J16 |
| Date: | 2009–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:23354&r=cwa |
| By: | Rana, Tariq Mehmood; Salaria, M. Rashid; Herani, Gobind M.; Qureshi, M.A. |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to investigate the employee’s perceptions of the impact, of Total Quality Management (TQM), on their roles within the organization and how they perceived the effectiveness of the quality processes in Pakistan Pharmaceutical industry. The universe of this study was the employees of Pharmaceutical industry in Islamabad and Lahore. For this purpose survey method was used by using questionnaire as a tool for data collection. The results have shown that Employee Training and Development, Employee Performance, Quality Process and Team Work are significant factors with the Total Quality Management and correlated with each others. The result shows the application of TQM principles addresses some of the key challenges facing the organization. The study was faced by certain limitations and included time constraints and resources constraints which limited this research to only Islamabad and Lahore offices, of the Pharmaceutical companies. The present study found support that pharmaceutical companies faced the same difficulties with TQM implementations as experienced in other industries. These include achieving a culture of continuous improvement, overcoming a lack of trust and understanding the TQM process itself, and what they were, as a company, trying to achieve. These problems are not new and many companies have difficulties in implementing TQM. Pharmaceutical companies also followed the path of achieving a quality certification; namely, ISO 9000 accreditation, in the pursuit of excellence. |
| Keywords: | Quality Management; pharmaceutical Development; Pakistan; Employee’s Perceptions |
| JEL: | I11 L25 J81 D24 |
| Date: | 2009–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:23362&r=cwa |
| By: | Imed Medhioub (High Trade School, UREP Laboratory, Sfax, Tunisia) |
| Abstract: | Nowadays, due to the world economic regionalization, business cycle synchronization is of great importance. It is in this context that this study is defined. Indeed, following the political debates carried out especially by France in order to create a Mediterranean Union, we propose a synchronism estimation between the Tunisian, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Turkish industrial cycles. Several methods were used to measure the business cycles synchronization among these countries. In fact, concordance index indicates a weaker convergence between the two Mediterranean sides. Consequently, the cycles are, in general, asynchronous and the creation of a Mediterranean Union is not encouraged. |
| Date: | 2010–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:527&r=cwa |
| By: | Mohamed Ali Marouani (Université Paris1-Panthéon-Sorbonne); Laura Munro |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to assess barriers to service provision in the financial, telecom, and transport sectors of selected MENA countries, including both trade and domestic restrictions. The analysis is focused on computation of aggregate and modal trade restrictiveness indexes (TRIs) by sector, drawing on information gathered from detailed questionnaires and country reports prepared by local consultants. The conclusions highlight that significant regulatory reforms have taken place in the service sectors of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco over the last decade, but that a broad range of restrictions still remain. The most significant change in these service sectors has been the lifting or softening of the constraints imposed on foreign equity participation. Reforms, however, have had varying degrees of impact on market structure depending on the country and the sector. |
| Date: | 2009–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:496&r=cwa |
| By: | Samy Ben Naceur (Laboratoire d’Economie et Finance Appliquées (LEFA) and Institut des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (IHEC)); Hichem Ben-Khedhiri; Barbara Casu |
| Abstract: | In the past two decades, both developed and developing countries have deregulated their banking and financial systems with the aim of improving the efficiency, productivity and profitability of the sectors and increasing international competitiveness. This study attempts to examine the effect of institutional and financial variables on the banking industry performance of selected Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. Evaluating bank efficiency in a non-parametric setting (Data Envelopment Analysis, DEA), we then employ a second-stage Tobit regression to investigate the impact of regulatory variables on banks’ efficiency. The first stage indicates that Morocco and Tunisia have more efficient banking systems compared to the other selected MENA countries, although banks in Jordan seem to catch up with best practice from 2003 onwards. The Tobit regressions show a robust association of some environmental measures with cost efficiency. In this context, our results reveal that higher bank efficiency in our sample is influenced by the quality of the legal system, well capitalized and liquid banks. We also find that banking sector development measured by credit to private sector by banks in low regulated environments—like the one in our sample countries—tends to reduce bank efficiency. However, the impact of stock market development is positive and significant in all specification confirming the complementary role of bank and capital market. Besides, a highly concentrated banking sector in our sample reduces significantly the efficiency of banks. Finally, efficiency is improving in our sample thanks to the financial reforms variables not accounted for in our control variables and Egyptian banks display the lowest efficiency in the region for the entire sample period. |
| Date: | 2009–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:499&r=cwa |
| By: | Alasrag, Hussien |
| Abstract: | The informal sector is economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government, and is not included in that government's Gross National Product (GNP), as opposed to a formal economy.Although the informal economy is often associated with developing countries, where up to 60% of the labor force (with as much 40% of GDP) works, all economic systems contain an informal economy in some proportion. The term informal sector was used in many earlier studies, and has been mostly replaced in more recent studies which use the newer term. This research aims to study The impacts of the informal sector On the Egyptian economy. |
| Keywords: | The informal sector ; Egyptian economy |
| JEL: | O1 O17 |
| Date: | 2010–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:23344&r=cwa |
| By: | Zaki, Chahir |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model incorporating trade facilitation aspects. This paper’s contributions are twofold: theoretical and empirical. First, this paper attempts to model trade facilitation explicitly in a dynamic CGE model applied. On the empirical side, I estimate, not assume, the tariff equivalent of red tape and related procedures at sectoral level. I use the ad valorem tariff equivalents of time to import and to export that have been estimated in a companion paper and I take into account the cost of such a process. To do so, I modify the Exter model that is calibrated on the Egyptian social accounting matrix of 2000/2001. My main findings show that, when trade facilitation is modeled precisely, i.e. by taking into account its cost as well as the tariff equivalents of its aspects, the impact of such a process is reduced. Meanwhile, its impact remains higher than trade liberalization. Moreover, some sectors witness a significant expansion more than others, especially processed food, garments and high value added products. |
| Keywords: | CGE; Trade facilitation; Egypt |
| JEL: | F11 F14 D58 |
| Date: | 2010–04–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:23353&r=cwa |
| By: | Yacine Belarbi; Abdallah Zouache (CREUSET-CNRS, University of Lyon, Saint-Etienne, France) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the economic forces that explain regional growth in Algeria in the period 1998-2005. Since the beginning of structural reforms in the early 1980s, the Algerian economy has experienced a transition from a soviet-kind planned economy to a market economy. Furthermore, from 1990 to 2000, Algeria experienced many political and economic troubles and was even forced by the IMF to follow a structural adjustment program between 1994 and 1998. This paper studies the relation between industrial employment growth per capita in 48 Algerian regions and the geographical location of those regions in terms of immediate neighborhood. Our results demonstrate that there is no convergence process between the Algerian regions. In other words, “rich” Algerian regions stay rich whereas relatively poor regions stay poor. In that vein, the significance of the spatial dependence coefficient may reveal that there are convergence clubs in Algeria. Growth dynamics in Algeria are not equitably distributed. |
| Date: | 2009–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:501&r=cwa |
| By: | Chahir Zaki (Universit´e Paris I Panth´eon Sorbonne, Paris School of Economics, France) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model incorporating trade facilitation aspects. This paper’s contributions are twofold: theoretical and empirical. First, this paper attempts to model trade facilitation explicitly in a dynamic CGE model applied. On the empirical side, I estimate, not assume, the tariff equivalent of red tape and related procedures at sectoral level. I use the ad valorem tariff equivalents of time to import and to export that have been estimated in a companion paper and I take into account the cost of such a process. To do so, I modify the Exter model that is calibrated on the Egyptian social accounting matrix of 2000/2001. My main findings show that, when trade facilitation is modeled precisely, i.e. by taking into account its cost as well as the tariff equivalents of its aspects, the impact of such a process is reduced. Meanwhile, its impact remains higher than trade liberalization. Moreover, some sectors witness a significant expansion more than others, especially processed food, garments and high value added products. |
| Date: | 2010–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:515&r=cwa |
| By: | Marwan Khawaja (Center for Research on Population and Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon); Rozzet Jurdi; Shireen Assaf; Joumana Yeretzian |
| Abstract: | This paper examines cause-specific labor force non-participation among women living in three impoverished communities on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon. It uses an expanded labor force utilization framework, separating the socially discouraged from other labor nonparticipants. This study is based on data from a sample survey of some 2699 households, carried out in 2002. The analysis is limited to women between the ages of 15-59 which yields a total of 3813 women, 9% of whom reported to be socially discouraged from seeking employment. Descriptive and bivariate analysis of the affect of the independent variables chosen is first investigated. A multinomial logit model is then fitted to the data in order to uncover the impact of individual and household characteristics on the socially discouraged group as well as women labor force participation. The focus is on covariates pertaining to both women respondents and their spouses (heads of household in other household domains), but several other human-capital, demographic and socio-economic factors are also included. Our findings overall indicate a strong influence of social and demographic factors on discouragement. These include residence, marital status, households with children and experience. Surprisingly, education of the household head and women, presence of children and income have no noticeable influence on social discouragement. |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:494&r=cwa |