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on Central and Western Asia |
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Issue of 2010‒11‒27
sixteen papers chosen by Bibhu Prasad Nayak Institute for Social and Economic Change |
| By: | Erdogdu, Erkan |
| Abstract: | Over the last decade, Turkish electricity demand has increased more than 8% per annum as a result of economic development. Being one of the renewable energy sources par excellence, non-exhaustible, non-polluting and economically more attractive than other renewable sources, hydropower has turned out to be an important contributor to the future energy mix of the country. This paper deals with hydropower policies to meet increasing electricity demand for sustainable energy development in Turkey. Turkey has a total gross hydropower potential of 433 TWh/year and 140 TWh/year of this capacity can be used economically, corresponding to the second largest economic potential in Europe. Currently only 35% of economic hydro potential of the country is utilized. After completion of hydropower plants under construction, this figure will increase to 49%. It is obvious that even after the construction of all projects there will still be a huge hydro potential in Turkey. Besides, Turkey is a poor country in terms of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal and so on) and has no nuclear power plant in operation, which strengthens the role of hydro energy among other alternatives. |
| Keywords: | Hydro energy; Energy policy; Turkey |
| JEL: | Q28 Q48 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26791&r=cwa |
| By: | John Gal; Mimi Ajzenstadt; Asher Ben-Arieh; Roni Holler; Nadine Zielinsky |
| Abstract: | This report presents an overview of child policy in Israel. It covers a wide range of services and policies that are intended to further the wellbeing of children in Israel or that have an impact upon the wellbeing of children, including the fields of education, health, cash transfers, taxation and personal social services. In addition, the labour market and policies linked to work and family reconciliation are discussed. The report also offers a brief overview of the context in which these policies and services developed, and their consequences, with a special emphasis on child poverty. This is due to the unusually high level of poverty among children in Israel. The report concludes with a discussion of the factors that have an impact upon the degree of effectiveness of child policies in Israel or, in the case of child poverty, upon their limited effectiveness. This discussion is followed by a number of policy recommendations intended to help policies and services to improve children’s wellbeing in Israeli society.<BR>Ce rapport présente un aperçu des politiques de l’enfant en Israël. Il couvre une large gamme de services et de politiques qui sont destinées à augmenter ou à influencer le bien-être des enfants en Israël, aussi bien dans les domaines éducatifs, de la santé, des transferts d’argent, des impôts et des services sociaux destinés aux personnes. Le rapport discute en outre les politiques visant à réconcilier le travail et la vie de famille. Il offre aussi un bref aperçu du contexte dans lequel ces politiques et services se sont développés et leurs conséquences, en mettant en particulier l’accent sur la pauvreté des enfants qui atteint un niveau exceptionnel dans le pays. Le rapport se termine par une discussion des facteurs qui influent sur l’efficacité des politiques destinés aux enfants en Israël ou, dans le cas de la pauvreté des enfants, sur leur efficacité limitée. Un certain nombre de recommandations suivent sur les politiques et les services destinés à améliorer le bien-être des enfants dans la société israélienne. |
| Keywords: | education, social policy, Israel, child policy, health work and labour reconciliation |
| JEL: | H2 H3 H4 H5 I2 I3 J1 |
| Date: | 2010–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaab:104-en&r=cwa |
| By: | Al-mulali, Usama; Che Sab, Normee |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of oil prices on the exchange rate in Kuwait which uses the fixed exchange rate regime to the US dollar. Time series data from 1970-2008 covering all the oil shocks are used. In order to achieve the results of this study, the VAR model, the Johansen-Juselius Multivariate Cointegration test and the Granger causality test are implemented. Due to the results we have arrived at, we recommend that Kuwait either maintains its exchange rate regime (pegged to a basket of currencies), or uses a crawling peg regime. |
| Keywords: | oil shocks; real exchange rate; Kuwait; VAR |
| JEL: | E30 F31 Q43 |
| Date: | 2010–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26844&r=cwa |
| By: | Adriana Kemp |
| Abstract: | Since the early 1990s, Israel has enacted a managed migration scheme for low-skilled foreign workers. Originally designed to replace Palestinian cross-border workers from the Occupied Territories in the secondary labour market, in 2007 foreign workers comprised 8.7% of the private-sector labour force, 40% of them without permits. Foreign workers are employed in three major sectors: construction, agriculture and home-care for the elderly. The latter has become the largest and fastest-growing sector employing foreign workers, mainly women. The Israeli temporary labour migration scheme is characterised by a strong dependency of certain sectors on foreign workers; disengagement of governmental agencies from direct involvement in recruitment, inspection of work conditions, effective enforcement of labour laws, and provision of services for foreign workers; a strong emphasis on temporariness coupled with lengthy and sometimes indefinite extension of possible stay (up to 63 months and potentially more); and lastly, by an entrenched client politics that guides policies on quota setting, permit allocation and employer subsidies. Recent government decisions that seek to overcome the distorting effects of the scheme on the Israeli labour market, while tempering deep-rooted norms that violate workers' labour and human rights, are heading in the right direction. However, they are also destined to fail if the scheme is not substantially revised in all its parts rather than through a patchwork of focused and segmented measures.<BR>Depuis le début des années 1990, Israël a promulgué un système de gestion de l’immigration des travailleurs étrangers peu qualifiés, initialement conçu pour remplacer les travailleurs transfrontaliers des territoires palestiniens, occupés dans le marché secondaire du travail. En 2007, les travailleurs étrangers représentaient 8,7% de la force de travail du secteur privé, dont 40% étaient en situation irrégulière. Les travailleurs étrangers sont employés principalement dans trois secteurs : le BTP, l’agriculture et les soins à domicile pour les personnes âgées. Ce dernier secteur est devenu le plus important et a connu la plus forte croissance de l’emploi des travailleurs étrangers, principalement des femmes. Le régime temporaire des migration de travail en Israël se caractérise par une forte dépendance de certains secteurs envers les travailleurs étrangers; un désengagement des organismes gouvernementaux dans le processus de recrutement, la surveillance des conditions de travail, l’exécution effective des réglementations du travail, et les services de soutien aux travailleurs étrangers ; l’accent mis sur le caractère temporaire du séjour, malgré les possibilités d’extension parfois infinies (jusqu’à 63 mois et plus) et, enfin, par une politique clientéliste persistante guidée par la fixation de quotas, l’attribution des permis et des subventions à l’employeur. Quelques décisions récentes du gouvernement visant à neutraliser les effets néfastes de ce système de gestion du marché du travail israélien, tout en tempérant les normes profondément enracinées qui violent les droits du travail et de l’homme, vont dans la bonne direction. Cependant, elles seront aussi vouées à l’échec si l’ensemble du système n’est pas sensiblement revu, à la place d’un patchwork de mesures ciblées et segmentées. |
| Keywords: | foreign workers scheme, binding system, elderly home-care, closed skies, human trafficking, private brokers, Palestinian non-citizen workers, Israel |
| JEL: | F22 O15 |
| Date: | 2010–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaab:103-en&r=cwa |
| By: | Shaikh, Salman |
| Abstract: | Islamic finance industry mostly uses LIBOR linked financial contracts which are akin to debt financing than the more preferable participatory modes of Mudarabah and Musharakah. As per the current orthodox understanding and practice of Islamic finance, the often cited preferable modes like Mudarabah and Musharakah are incapable even in a simple model economy with them as the only mode of financing. Hence, they are rarely used. The prevalent Islamic products which are linked with LIBOR are and will predominantly be used and practiced Islamic finance may remain incapable of providing egalitarian benefits it once promised. Ironically, Islamic values like justice, equality, truth, trust, kindness, honesty and responsibility are often discussed in literature and seminars on Islamic Economics; whereas, in reality, the lack of these values in practice is the major reason why preferable participatory modes remain unusable! As discussed, the current orthodox understanding of Islamic fiscal redistribution mechanisms like Zakat and Inheritance also make them incapable of contributing towards the establishment of an egalitarian economic framework. This paper proposes an alternate approach to practiced Islamic finance and orthodox understanding of Zakat and inheritance laws and shows that the alternate approach could still be sufficient to contribute towards egalitarian objectives effectively. |
| Keywords: | Islamic Finance; Islamic Economics; Welfare Economics; Experimental Economics; Heterodox Economics; Zakat; Fiscal Redistribution |
| JEL: | A1 H2 G0 B5 |
| Date: | 2010–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26701&r=cwa |
| By: | Rauf Gönenç; Saygin Sahinöz; Ozge Tuncel |
| Abstract: | Turkey has considerably improved its terms of access to the global capital market. Progress in macroeconomic fundamentals has enhanced credibility and reduced risk premia and capital costs. This has had broad effects on capital supply conditions in the entire economy. Real interest rates have declined, and funds of lengthened maturity are becoming available for a broader range of borrowers and fund users, offering a basis for broader–based long–term growth. Estimations in the paper suggest that reinforcing fiscal institutions, price stability, governance quality, political stability and trade and growth performance would help Turkey to continue to improve its integration with the international capital market and reduce durably its capital costs. This paper relates to the 2010 OECD Economic Review of Turkey (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/turkey).<P>L’Intégration croissante de la Turquie avec le marché global des capitaux : Effets sur les primes de risque et coût du capital<BR>La Turquie a considérablement amélioré ses conditions d'accès au marché global des capitaux. Des progrès dans les fondamentaux macroéconomiques ont renforcé la crédibilité et réduit les primes de risque et le coût du capital. Cela a eu des conséquences considérables sur les conditions de financement de l'économie tout entière. Les taux d'intérêt réels ont diminué, et des fonds à plus longue maturité deviennent disponibles pour un plus large éventail d'utilisateurs de fonds, offrant une base plus large pour la croissance à long terme. Les estimations dans le document suggèrent que le renforcement des institutions budgétaires, de la stabilité des prix, de la qualité de la gouvernance, de la stabilité politique et de la performance du commerce extérieur et de la croissance aiderait la Turquie à continuer à améliorer son intégration avec le marché global des capitaux et à réduire durablement ses coûts en capital. Ce document se rapporte à l’Étude économique de Turquie de l’OCDE, 2010, (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/turkey). |
| Keywords: | capital markets, risk premia, credit rating, interest rate, economic growth, capital costs, open economy, fiscal institution, croissance économique, marchés de capitaux, taux d'intérêt, prime de risque, coût du capital, économie ouverte, institution budgétaire, notation de crédit |
| JEL: | E43 E44 E62 F34 F43 G15 |
| Date: | 2010–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:812-en&r=cwa |
| By: | Arjomandi, Amir (University of Wollongong); Valadkhani, Abbas (University of Wollongong) |
| Abstract: | This study is the first to use the Hicks-Moorsteen TFP index developed by O’Donnell (2008,2009, 2010c) to analyse efficiency and productivity changes in the banking system. The advantage of this approach over the popular Malmquist productivity index is that it is free from any assumptions concerning firm optimising behaviour, the structure of markets, or returns to scale. The effects of Iranian government regulations launched in 2005 on the Iranian banking industry are investigated through an analysis of performance over the period 2003-2008 assuming variable returns to scale. The results obtained show that although the Iranian banking industry has been inefficient over the entire period of the study, the industry’s technical efficiency level - which had improved over the period 2003-2006 - deteriorated considerably after the regulatory changes were introduced. The industry experienced its highest negative efficiency growth in 2006 which was 43% and became more mix inefficient after 2005, with a considerably negative productivity change after 2007. Overall, changes of production possibility set and scale efficiency changes exerted dominant effects on productivity changes. |
| Keywords: | Regulation, Productivity, Banking, Data envelopment analysis, Malmquist index,Hicks-Moorsteen index |
| JEL: | G28 O47 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uow:depec1:wp10-11&r=cwa |
| By: | Eric Neumayer |
| Abstract: | This article analyses the organizational structure as well as the characteristics of development finance provided by Arab donor countries. This is done with a comparative view in relation to western donors and with the aim to develop recommendations as to how Arab development finance can be strengthened and rendered more effective for the new Millennium. In the 1960s and 1970s Arab donors established a variety of national and multilateral agencies. [Discussion Paper No. 2002/96] |
| Keywords: | aid, official development assistance, Arab agencies, Development Assistance Committee |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:3184&r=cwa |
| By: | Kamal, Mona |
| Abstract: | This study aims to bring into view the importance of the coordination of fiscal and monetary policies through reviewing the theoretical framework for such coordination. This includes: the interaction between the two policies, the evolution of this issue in the economic literature, the determinants of the coordination, the institutional coordinating arrangements and the operating mechanisms for the effectiveness of this coordination. |
| Keywords: | The Coordination of Fiscal and Monetary Polices;Public Debt Management |
| JEL: | E61 |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26856&r=cwa |
| By: | Sarıbaş, Hakan |
| Abstract: | In this paper, the relationships between individual income and ethics formation are studied. Our theoretical model explains what happens to individual incomes when a culture encourages people to devote life-time efforts to establish a virtuous character. Two propositions emerged from the present study. Firstly, if there exists a channel from effforts to income via ethics, individual income begins to increase and reaches a peak as more and more time is devoted to ethics formation. Additional time after the peak becomes detrimental to the individual income. Secondly, time for ethics formation becomes economically useless when the channel from efforts to income via ethics dissolves. Our simulations and econometric findings support the theoretical explanations. |
| Keywords: | Growth; Institutions; Ethics; Turkey |
| JEL: | O17 C02 O12 |
| Date: | 2010–11–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26825&r=cwa |
| By: | Erdogdu, Erkan |
| Abstract: | Restrictions on CO2 emissions, the nuclear phase out announced by some member states, high emissions from coal-fired power plants, and barriers to rapid development of renewable generation are factors that make the European Union (EU) highly dependent on natural gas. With three non-EU countries (Russia, Algeria and Norway) currently supplying more than half the gas consumed within the EU and with projections pointing out that by 2030 internal sources will only be able to meet 25% of demand, EU desperately looks for means to secure new sources of gas supply. In this context, the Nabucco pipeline is planned to deliver gas from Caspian and Middle East regions to EU market. It runs across Turkey and then through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary before connecting with a major gas hub in Austria. On paper, Nabucco project makes perfect sense, offering a new export route to EU markets for Caspian gas producers (Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan) as well as Iran and, in time, Iraq. The project is backed by the EU and strongly supported by the United States. Perhaps most importantly, Nabucco would completely bypass Russia. This paper addresses issues surrounding Nabucco project and their implications for European gas security. |
| Keywords: | European natural gas security; Nabucco project; energy policy |
| JEL: | Q38 Q41 Q34 Q31 Q48 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26793&r=cwa |
| By: | Annez, Patricia; Bertaud, Alain; Patel, Bimal; Phatak, V. K. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the policy options for India as it seeks to improve living conditions of the poor on a large scale and reduce the population in slums. Addressing the problem requires first a diagnosis of the market at the city level and a recognition that government interventions, rather than thwarting the operations of the market, should seek to make it operate better. This can substantially reduce the subsidies required to assist low income households to attain decent living standards. The authors show that government programs that directly provide housing would cost, in conservative estimates, about of 20 to 30 percent of GDP, and cannot solve a problem on the scale of India's. Using two case studies, for Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the paper offers a critical examination of government policies that shape the real estate market and make formal housing unaffordable for a large part of the population. It illustrates how simple city level market diagnostics can be used to identify policy changes and design smaller assistance programs that can reach the poor. The linkage between chronic infrastructure backlogs and policies makes housing unnecessarily expensive. Increasing the carrying capacity of cities is essential for gaining acceptance of real estate policies suited to Indian cities. The authors propose approaches for funding major investments to achieve this. |
| Keywords: | Housing&Human Habitats,Urban Housing,Public Sector Management and Reform,Regional Governance,Urban Governance and Management |
| Date: | 2010–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5475&r=cwa |
| By: | Benjamin, Dwayne; Brandt, Loren; Giles, John |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the relationship between initial village inequality and subsequent household income growth for a large sample of households in rural China. Using a rich longitudinal survey spanning the years 1987-2002, and controlling for an array of household and village characteristics, the paper finds that households located in higher inequality villages experienced significantly lower income growth through the 1990s. However, local inequality’s predictive power and effects are significantly diminished by the end of the sample. The paper exploits several advantages of the household-level data to explore hypotheses that shed light on the channels by which inequality affects growth. Biases due to aggregation and heterogeneity of returns to own-resources, previously suggested as candidate explanations for the relationship, are both ruled out. Instead, the evidence points to unobserved village institutions at the time of economic reforms that were associated with household access to higher income activities as the source of the link between inequality and growth. The empirical analysis addresses a number of pertinent econometric issues including measurement error and attrition, but underscores others that are likely to be intractable for all investigations of the inequality-growth relationship. |
| Keywords: | Access to Finance,Inequality,Rural Poverty Reduction,Poverty Impact Evaluation,Services&Transfers to Poor |
| Date: | 2010–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5483&r=cwa |
| By: | Matthias Doepke; Michèle Tertilt |
| Abstract: | Empirical evidence suggests that money in the hands of mothers (as opposed to their husbands) benefits children. Does this observation imply that targeting transfers on women is good development policy? In this paper they develop a series of non-cooperative family bargaining models to understand what kind of frictions can give rise to the observed empirical relationships, and we assess the policy implications of these models. It had been found that targeting transfers to women can have unintended consequences. Moreover, alternative forms of empowering women may lead to opposite results. More empirical research is needed to distinguish between alternative theoretical models. [BREAD Working Paper No. 281] |
| Keywords: | Empowerment, development,empirical, transfers |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:3189&r=cwa |
| By: | K. C. Zachariah; B.A. Prakash; S. Irudaya Rajan |
| Abstract: | This is the fourth in a series of Working Papers published by the CDS on Kerala migration. Unlike the other three, this one is financed by the Kerala Government and the data were collected in UAE. The objectives of this Working Paper are to; document changes in the labour demand for different categories of emigrant workers, enumerate the emigration policies, examine employment and working conditions, wage levels and related problems of the Kerala emigrants, understand the education and training requirements of future emigrants to UAE. [Working Paper No. 326] |
| Keywords: | Kerala Government, UAE, workers, policies, education, training |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:3185&r=cwa |
| By: | Li Shu (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto); Aurora A.C. Teixeira (CEF.UP, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto; INESC Porto; OBEGEF) |
| Abstract: | Studies on the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Chinese economy have essentially focused on the relationship between FDI, productivity and economic growth, revealing a tendency toward sectoral and macroeconomic empirical studies. This work aims to complement these approaches and contribute to the rather limited literature on the relationship between FDI, Human Capital and Innovation at a corporate level. Based on a set of large and innovative firms (national and foreign capital) located in China, we have concluded that: i) the direct impact of foreign capital on the level of human capital in firms is negative, that is, no evidence was found suggesting that FDI has a positive influence on their human capital; ii) in indirect terms, by means of investment in R&D activities, FDI has a positive impact on general human capital (i.e., formal education). These results suggest that for China to benefit from FDI, it is necessary to implement a selective policy to attract FDI, taking into account more technologically advanced projects. |
| Keywords: | Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational firms; Human Capital; R&D; China |
| JEL: | F21 F23 J24 O32 |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:391&r=cwa |