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on Central and Western Asia |
| By: | Ahmet F. Aysan; Mustafa Disli; Huseyin Ozturk (-) |
| Abstract: | We examine the interest rate sensitivity of both deposits and credits at Islamic and con- ventional banks in Turkey. We find that the bank lending channel is especially operative for Islamic banks. Impulse responses for conventional and Islamic banks reveal that Islamic bank depositors’ sensitivity to policy rate changes are substantially larger than that of con- ventional bank depositors. Next to heavily dependence on deposit funding, we consider that inertia in Islamic bank deposit rates impedes these banks to keep those depositors who con- sider the opportunity cost of monetary policy rates is unbearable. At the lending side, we obtain similar results, implying that tight monetary policy leads to a larger contraction in Islamic bank credits. This finding is a reflection of the favorable attitude of Islamic banks towards SME financing. When similar relationships are analysed for currency and inflation shocks, we again find larger responses for Islamic banks showing the cyclical nature of SME credits. |
| Keywords: | Lending channel, Monetary transmission, Islamic banks, SMEs |
| JEL: | E44 E51 E52 G21 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:17/938&r=cwa |
| By: | Bahadir Dursun; Resul Cesur; Inas Rashad Kelly |
| Abstract: | While several studies estimate the impact of maternal education on birth weight and child mortality using quasi-experimental identification strategies in developing countries, the state of the literature on the causal relationship between maternal education and child health is far from being complete: (i) the extant literature offers conflicting findings; (ii) the local average treatment effects of maternal education, induced by different types of natural experiments, on child health are not well-distinguished; and (iii) many of the existing articles are undermined by limited statistical power due to small sample sizes and/or a weak first stage. To fill the void in the literature, we examine the impact of mother’s extended primary schooling on birth outcomes and child mortality using two large data sets from the Republic of Turkey. We use the 1997 education reform, which extended the duration of mandatory schooling from 5 to 8 years, to address the endogeneity of maternal education to children’s outcomes. A unique feature of the schooling reform of 1997 is that, in a developing country, it arguably provides one of the most suitable empirical frameworks to identify the local average treatment effect of compulsory education among women with a low tendency to extend their schooling beyond five years of elementary school. Results show that an increase in mother’s schooling improves child health at birth (such as through a reduction in the likelihood of low birth weight and premature births) and lowers child mortality. Moreover, it improves outcomes pertaining to method of birth delivery and maternal smoking. These findings survive a number of sensitivity tests. The current study provides robust evidence in favor of the argument that increasing the duration of mandatory primary education among women who have a low interest in receiving more schooling may have substantial non-pecuniary benefits in terms of the health of the offspring in developing countries. |
| JEL: | I12 I21 I26 J13 |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23492&r=cwa |
| By: | Gabor Hunya (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Monika Schwarzhappel (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw) |
| Abstract: | The economic environment for foreign direct investment (FDI) has improved. A cautious upturn in economic activities across the Central, East and Southeast European (CESEE) region is based on expanding private consumption. Investments have started to recover, increasing opportunities for foreign business. Also, the most important foreign markets for CESEE products in Europe and overseas have stabilised, albeit amid increasing uncertainty. The CESEE region has maintained its cost competitiveness, despite surging wages and occasional labour shortages, by benefiting from considerable productivity improvements. FDI inflows to the CESEE countries increased by 45% in 2016, compared with the revised 2015 data. The invested amount of EUR 90 billion is the highest since 2008, marginally surpassing the inflows reported in 2011 and 2012. The 2016 recovery was 23% in the EU’s Central and East European region and almost 150% in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Ukraine; meanwhile the Western Balkans and Turkey booked a decline of 25%. The 2016 changes were in just the opposite direction to 2015, when FDI in the Western Balkans and Turkey boomed, while it declined in the other two regions. A special section of this report analyses the position of Austria as investor and investment destination for CESEE countries. A separate section presents new features of greenfield investments in 2016 an increasing number of projects and higher capital investments that increasingly focused on the manufacturing sector. Forecasts for FDI in 2017 point upwards again, because the international environment is positive, although plagued by uncertainties, and also economic growth in most of CESEE is bound to be more robust than in the previous year. The second part of this report contains two sets of tables Tables I cover FDI flow and stock data, FDI flows by components and related income; Tables II provide detailed FDI data by economic activity and by country. The main sources of data are the central banks of the individual Central, East and Southeast European countries. The section ‘Methodological Explanations’ highlights important recent changes in reporting standards and their application in the wiiw FDI Database and wiiw FDI Report. The wiiw FDI Database is available online This online access with a modern query tool supports easy search and download of data. The wiiw FDI Database contains the full set of FDI data with time series starting form 1990 as far as available. Access to wiiw FDI Database |
| Keywords: | foreign direct investment, balance of payments, FDI by form, income repatriation, statistics, new EU Member States, Central Europe, Southeast Europe, Western Balkans, China, Turkey, CIS, Russia, Ukraine |
| JEL: | C82 F21 O57 P23 |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:fdirep:fdi:2017-06&r=cwa |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | After a difficult start of the year, pressures on the economy are moderating, helped by a stabilizing regional context. Growth, however, is expected to remain lower for longer, making adjustment policies even more important. While the appreciation of the exchange rate, together with the Public Investment Projects rescheduling, has reduced debt vulnerabilities, risks to the debt outlook persist. The authorities are taking additional efforts to adhere to the 2016 fiscal targets, but are asking for a relaxation of the 2017 targets given an improved debt outlook and a still weak economy. Despite declining dollarization, financial sector vulnerabilities remain high. |
| Date: | 2017–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:17/143&r=cwa |
| By: | Nazir, Sidra; Saeed, Saira; Muhammad, Atta |
| Abstract: | The study has evaluated the relationship between the inflation rate and GDP growth of Pakistan using the annual data of inflation rate and GDP growth since 1972 to 2016 for Pakistan. The paper has used the different techniques like; OLS, FMOLS, TAR and dummy method threshold model, to estimate the true relationship between the concerned variables based on the previous studies those gives mixed results. The study has concluded the positive relationship between the inflation rate and economic growth of Pakistan at 5.5% to 9% threshold level of inflation and confirmed the nonlinear relationship between them. And low and double figure inflation rate are considered to have adverse effect on the economic growth of the Pakistan. So to stimulate the stable economic growth of Pakistan we need to have medium rate of inflation. |
| Keywords: | Inflation rate, GDP growth, threshold level, nonlinear relationship |
| JEL: | C22 E00 O11 |
| Date: | 2017–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:79649&r=cwa |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | The three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility was approved on July 20, 2016 in an amount of SDR 32.38 million (US$44.9 million, or 10 percent of quota). The arrangement supports the government’s reform agenda to lay the foundations for higher growth and job creation, and aims to catalyze continued support from donors. |
| Date: | 2017–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:17/144&r=cwa |
| By: | International Monetary Fund |
| Abstract: | This background paper, which is a supplement to the board paper on “Ensuring Financial Stability in Countries with Islamic Banking (IB) Sectors”, presents country experiences with reforms to strengthen regulatory oversight of the IB sector. It reviews experiences with and the progress made in adapting prudential, safety nets and resolution frameworks to the specifics of IB. The selection of several countries from a range of regions with different levels of development and approaches to IB was designed to provide a representative sample of country experiences so as to enrich the policy conclusions. Such a multiplicity of experiences can help to identify common challenges that countries face in reforming their regulatory frameworks and to distill best practices. The countries, for which detailed case studies have been undertaken, are: Bahrain, Djibouti, Indonesia, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Turkey and the United Kingdom. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfscr:17/145&r=cwa |