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on Central and Western Asia |
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Issue of 2011‒03‒19
eight papers chosen by Bibhu Prasad Nayak Institute for Social and Economic Change |
| By: | Hasan, Zubair |
| Abstract: | This paper clarifies some misinterpretations of three foundational concepts in mainstream economics from Islamic viewpoint. These are scarcity of resources, pursuit of self-interest and maximizing behavior of economic agents. It argues that stocks of resources that God has provided are inexhaustible. But important is the availability of resources out of stocks to mankind. Availability is a function of human effort and the state of knowledge about resources over time and space. In that sense resources are scarce in relation to multiplicity of human wants for Islamic economics as well. Self-interest must be distinguished from selfishness. The motive operates on both ends of human existence: mundane and spiritual. Its pursuit does not preclude altruism from human life. Counter interests keep balance in society and promote civility. Islam recognizes the motive as valid. Maximization relates to quantifiable ex ante variables. Uncertainty of future outcomes of actions makes maximization a heuristic but useful analytical tool. The concept is value neutral. What is maximized, how and to what end alone give rise to moral issues. Modified in the light of Shari’ah requirements the three concepts can provide a firmer definition for Islamic economics centered on the notion of falah. |
| Keywords: | Scarcity; self-interest; maximization; Islamic Economics; israf; Shri'ah; heuristics |
| JEL: | B10 A22 B21 B13 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:29414&r=cwa |
| By: | Kibritçioğlu, Aykut |
| Abstract: | Following the US financial crisis of 2006-2007, the global economy suffered from negative spillover effects of it since fall 2008. In this study, the effects of global financial crsis on Turkish economy (2008-2010) and the macroeconomic performance of the Turkish government (before and) during the crisis (2005-2010) are briefly discussed. |
| Keywords: | Global crisis; economic crisis; financial crisis; Turkish economy; macroeconomic performance; unemployment; short-run economic growth |
| JEL: | E62 F30 F01 E50 E60 |
| Date: | 2010–09–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:29470&r=cwa |
| By: | Sarah Kahn-Nisser |
| Abstract: | Abstract: In this paper I seek to explicate the ideas about EU membership embedded in the accession criteria, and in the pre-accession monitoring of Poland, Romania and Turkey. Taking four ideal-type modes of membership as my heuristic gear, I will show that the way the criteria were interpreted and implemented in the ‘progress towards accession’ reports, thickened the criteria and invoked a Civic-Cultural mode of membership for the EU. Two conclusions emerge: First there is a substantial degree of internal logic to the reports. The second conclusion is that the interpretation and reconstruction of the criteria, through the practice of pre-accession monitoring, entails an inherent amplification of the criteria. |
| Keywords: | Copenhagen criteria; diversity/homogeneity; European identity; normative political theory; enlargement; Poland; Romania; Turkey |
| Date: | 2011–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:jeanmo:p0283&r=cwa |
| By: | Richard Pomfret (Institute for International Economics) |
| Abstract: | The paper presents a comparative analysis of the resource-rich transition economies of Mongolia and the southern republics of the former Soviet Union. For Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the ability to earn revenue from cotton exports allowed them to avoid reform. Oil in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was associated with large-scale corruption, but with soaring revenues in the 2000s their institutions evolved and to some extent improved. Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia illustrate the challenges facing small economies with large potential mineral resources, with the former suffering from competition for rents among the elite and the latter from lost opportunities. Overall the countries illustrate that a resource curse is not inevitable among transition economies, but a series of hurdles need to be surmounted to benefit from resource abundance. Neither the similar initial institutions nor those created in the 1990s are immutable. |
| Keywords: | Oil, Gas, Minerals, Central Asia, Resource Curse |
| JEL: | Q32 P35 O13 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp11-8&r=cwa |
| By: | Patricia Justino (Institute of Development Studies); Olga Shemyakina (Georgia Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of remittances on the labor supply of men and women in post-conflict Tajikistan. We find that on average men and women from remittance-receiving households are less likely to participate in the labor market and supply fewer hours when they do. The negative effect of remittances on labor supply is smaller for women, which is an intriguing result as other studies on remittances and labor supply (primarily focused on Latin America) have shown that female labor supply is more responsive to remittances. The results are robust to using different measures of remittances and inclusion of variables measuring migration of household members. We estimate a joint effect of remittances and an individual’s residence in a conflict-affected area during the Tajik civil war. Remittances had a larger impact on the labor supply of men living in conflict-affected areas compared to men in less conflictaffected areas. The impact of remittances on the labor supply of women does not differ by their residence in both the more or less conflict affected area. |
| Date: | 2010–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:83&r=cwa |
| By: | Silvia Jarauta Bernal |
| Abstract: | Concerned with the equation of risk management behaviours, the research analyses whether risk management in context of armed conflict is different to that observed during natural disasters and economic crises. Based on the case study of the West Bank during 2000-2004, this investigation uses primary data about household’s perceptions, the Palestinian Expenditure and Consumption Survey and a conflict data set to explore how the characteristics of the occupationproduced shocks unfold into the household’s risk management. The distinctive features observed in the risk-related behaviour of West Bank Palestinians indicate that the standard risk management framework needs to be adapted to intregate the endogenous, multidimensional and dynamic nature of conflict-produced shocks. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcn:rwpapr:42&r=cwa |
| By: | Matthieu CLEMENT (GREThA, CNRS, UMR 5113) |
| Abstract: | The object of this article is to assess the impact of remittances on household expenditure patterns in Tajikistan. More specifically, the paper applies propensity score matching methods to the 2003 Tajikistan Living Standards Measurement Survey. The results do not provide evidence of a productive use of remittances since neither internal nor external remittances have a positive effect on investment expenditures. Migration and remittances are therefore interpreted in terms of short-term coping strategies that help dependent households to achieve a basic level of consumption |
| Keywords: | remittances; expenditure patterns; propensity score matching; sensitivity analysis, Tajikistan. |
| JEL: | O12 O15 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:wpegrt:2011-09&r=cwa |
| By: | Bergemann, Annette; Caliendo, Marco; van den Berg, Gerard J; Zimmermann, Klaus F |
| Abstract: | Labor market programs may affect unemployed individuals’ behavior before they enroll. Such ex ante effects may differ according to ethnic origin. We apply a novel method that relates self-reported perceived treatment rates and job search behavioral outcomes, such as the reservation wage or search intensity, to each other. We compare German native workers with migrants with a Turkish origin or Central and Eastern European (including Russian) background. Job search theory is used to derive theoretical predictions. We examine the omnibus ex ante effect of the German ALMP system, using the novel IZA Evaluation Data Set, which includes self-reported assessments of the variables of interest as well as an unusually detailed amount of information on behavior, attitudes and past outcomes. We find that the ex ante threat effect on the reservation wage and search effort varies considerably among the groups considered. |
| Keywords: | active labor market policy; expectations; immigrants; policy evaluation; program evaluation; reservation wage; search effort; unemployment duration |
| JEL: | C21 D83 D84 J61 J64 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8295&r=cwa |