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Economics

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Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

2013

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Do Tax Implications Change The Fisher Effect For The Turkish Economy?, Kenan Lopcu, Nuran Coşkun, Süleyman Değirmen Sep 2013

Do Tax Implications Change The Fisher Effect For The Turkish Economy?, Kenan Lopcu, Nuran Coşkun, Süleyman Değirmen

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

This study investigates the validity of both the conventional and tax-adjusted Fisher effects using time series methods such as the ARDL bounds test, and Gregory-Hansen (G-H) cointegration test. To compare the conventional and tax-adjusted Fisher effects, we use two different time series data for interest rates: 1) interest rates adjusted for taxes, and 2) interest rates not adjusted for taxes. Using monthly changes in quarterly and annual interest and inflation rates, both the G-H and ARDL bound tests support the conventional and tax-adjusted Fisher effects. However, the magnitude of the inflation coefficient in the long-run relationship tends to decline for …

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Turkey’S Comparative Advantages And Dynamic Market Positioning In The Eu Market, Seda Ekmen-Özçelik, Güzin Erlat Sep 2013

Turkey’S Comparative Advantages And Dynamic Market Positioning In The Eu Market, Seda Ekmen-Özçelik, Güzin Erlat

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

No abstract provided.

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The Impact Of Household Labor Supply Structure On Poverty, Serkan Değirmenci, Ipek Ilkkaracan Sep 2013

The Impact Of Household Labor Supply Structure On Poverty, Serkan Değirmenci, Ipek Ilkkaracan

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

Research mostly in the context of developed economies shows that the transformation of household structure from single male breadwinner families to dual earner families is associated with decreasing rates of poverty as well as lower levels of income inequality. This paper uses micro data from Turkish household income and budget surveys for 2003 and 2010 to examine to what extent household labor supply structure has an impact on family income, poverty and income inequality. We classify married couple households by labor supply of husbands and wives and explore any differentials in household income levels, poverty rates as well as income …

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Oil Prices Once Again: The Link Towards Middle East Economies, Erhan Aslanoğlu, Pinar Deniz Sep 2013

Oil Prices Once Again: The Link Towards Middle East Economies, Erhan Aslanoğlu, Pinar Deniz

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

Recently, it is observed that current account surplus in oil exporting countries have been rising with the help of peaking oil prices. Expansionary monetary policies of major central banks boosting the speculation on commodity prices, political turmoil in Middle East region which is called the “Arab Spring,” and most importantly rising energy demand in the world economy due to high average growth rates of developing countries are argued to be the main reasons for the rising oil prices. This study aims to clarify the global stance of oil prices examining causes and how this affects Middle East economies (MEEs) separately …

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Price Convergence And Globalization: Evidence From Selected Countries, Fatma Dogruel, A. Suut Dogruel Sep 2013

Price Convergence And Globalization: Evidence From Selected Countries, Fatma Dogruel, A. Suut Dogruel

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

MENA countries have been confronted with major social, economic and political changes during the last two decades. During this period some emerging countries and transition economies also experienced similar transformation at varying degrees. The transformation of the economic system has affected not only relative domestic prices but also the gap between domestic and international price levels. The paper focuses on how deviation of domestic prices from international market prices is affected by openness in the selected countries. The difference between domestic and international price level is calculated by employing purchasing power parity (PPP). The factors that may have an effect …

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Gender Inequality In The Mena: Myths Versus Facts, Nezahat Kucuk Sep 2013

Gender Inequality In The Mena: Myths Versus Facts, Nezahat Kucuk

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

The study uses a cross-sectional data set for 209 countries in order to examine the relationship between gender inequality and its determinants, such as the economic development, information communication technology (ICT), education, and institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. We test whether the regulation of social life by Islamic norms and values is related to gender inequality and whether the impacts differ for the MENA countries, as well as Arab and Muslim majority countries. The study finds that the impact of gender inequality differs for the MENA, Arab and Muslim majority countries only when control variables …

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Financial Services Liberalization In A Natural Resource Rich Economy, Hatem Samman, Sheikh Shahnawaz Sep 2013

Financial Services Liberalization In A Natural Resource Rich Economy, Hatem Samman, Sheikh Shahnawaz

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

One objective of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is to achieve financial services liberalization in member countries. We assess the implications of such liberalization in the banking sectors of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. After providing an overview of the GCC banking sector, we discuss the GATS provisions relevant to financial services and present liberalization commitments and exemptions of these countries under the agreement. Using the observation that spikes in oil prices are accompanied with expansion in credit availability, we develop a simple model to formally explore the consequences of …

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The Rise Of Political Islam Can The Turkish Model Be Applied Successfully In Egypt? By Dr Taha Kassem, Taha Kassem May 2013

The Rise Of Political Islam Can The Turkish Model Be Applied Successfully In Egypt? By Dr Taha Kassem, Taha Kassem

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

Although the parliamentary elections run in Egypt in December 2011- January 2012 indicated that Egypt is witnessing an era of political or democratic transformation, they signified the rise of political Islam to authority; the rise which created a lot of debates and posed a lot of questions about the political and economic future of Egypt. The core of these debates circles around these questions: Would Egypt adopt, literally, a rigid pro- Islamic type of rule based on the Islamic Sharia (Islamic Code) or would it adopt a moderate model, like that in Turkey, in its political and economic transformation? Pessimists …

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Food Subsidy And The Social Assistance Program In Egypt; Targeting And Efficiency Assessment, Karima Korayem May 2013

Food Subsidy And The Social Assistance Program In Egypt; Targeting And Efficiency Assessment, Karima Korayem

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

This study assesses targeting efficiency and effectiveness of the two most important welfare programs in Egypt, the food subsidy program and the Social Assistance Program. The study uses two sources for data: field data for seven governorates in Egypt with the highest poverty ratio, and published data. It finds that the food subsidy program is fairly inefficient in targeting the lower income groups, especially in rural areas. Also, it is not well targeted on the governorates’ level. Upper Egypt governorates with the highest poverty ratios take less food subsidy, as compared to urban governorates with the lowest poverty levels. The …

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Egypt And The Eu: An Assessment Of The Egyptian Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Ashraf Saleh, Hanane F. Abouelkheir May 2013

Egypt And The Eu: An Assessment Of The Egyptian Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Ashraf Saleh, Hanane F. Abouelkheir

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

When the Euro Mediterranean Partnership Agreement (EMP) between Egypt and the European Union came into force, it was the first regional agreement of this kind to involve north-southsouth developing and developed countries. This type of regional agreements opened the door for many challenges facing the participating countries especially the developing ones. Therefore, this article is mainly concerned with a detailed assessment of the Egypt-Euro Mediterranean partnership Agreement through analyzing its objectives and instruments, providing an overview of the Egyptian EU economic relationship and the Egyptian economy's benchmark data and basic economic indicators before and after the EMP. This article also …

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The Egyptian Revolution And Post Socio-Economic Impact, Doaa S. Abdou, Zeinab Zaazou May 2013

The Egyptian Revolution And Post Socio-Economic Impact, Doaa S. Abdou, Zeinab Zaazou

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

The Egyptian revolution carries a challenging transition phase, starting out with problems such as low foreign direct investments (FDI), a high budget deficit, a high debt rate, a high unemployment rate, a high poverty rate, and a low standard of living. In addition, the budget deficit is expected to rise from 8.1% in 2009/10 close to 10% in 2010/11, as the interim government boosts spending to offset the impact of the political unrest. The temporary supply shortages that followed the upheaval, coupled with rising international prices of food and fuel have been adding to the pressure on the domestic price …

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Youth Bulges, Poor Institutional Quality And Missing Migration Opportunities - Triggers Of And Potential Counter-Measures For Terrorism In Mena, Rahel Schomaker May 2013

Youth Bulges, Poor Institutional Quality And Missing Migration Opportunities - Triggers Of And Potential Counter-Measures For Terrorism In Mena, Rahel Schomaker

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

During the last few decades, a convolute of economic literature has emerged which focuses on the effects of demography, in particular the existence of so-called “youth bulges”, on economic growth and performance (for an overview see e.g. Bloom et al. 2001). The approach in our paper extends previous research to include potentially negative growth effects of a large share of young people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) not only via the “channel” of unemployment, but also through their potential as a “trigger” for political unrest and domestic terrorism, which have been identified in economic literature as important …

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Fdi And Absorptive Capacity In Emerging Economies, Nagwa Hosny Khordagui, Gehan Saleh May 2013

Fdi And Absorptive Capacity In Emerging Economies, Nagwa Hosny Khordagui, Gehan Saleh

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

Inward FDI is believed to promote economic growth and transfer technology across countries. This led many economies to promote policies that encourage and support inward FDI. Researchers have been undertaking empirical research to determine whether inward FDI does in fact have the proclaimed effect on the economy. The findings from the studies on the spillover effects of FDI are mixed. More recent studies explain that it is not a matter of whether FDI influences the host country’s economy; but rather of whether the necessary factors for the existence of spillover effects are present. This raises the issue of what is …

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What Can We Say About Turkey And Its Competitors In The Eu Market? An Analysis By Extensive And Intensive Margins, Seda Ekmen-Özçelik, Güzin Erlat May 2013

What Can We Say About Turkey And Its Competitors In The Eu Market? An Analysis By Extensive And Intensive Margins, Seda Ekmen-Özçelik, Güzin Erlat

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

No abstract provided.

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Can Productivity Increases In The Distribution Sector Help Explain Tendency Of The Turkish Lira To Appreciate?, Fikret Dülger, Kenan Lopcu, Almıla Burgaç May 2013

Can Productivity Increases In The Distribution Sector Help Explain Tendency Of The Turkish Lira To Appreciate?, Fikret Dülger, Kenan Lopcu, Almıla Burgaç

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

The Balassa-Samuelson (B-S) hypothesis relies on the productivity differentials between tradable and non-tradable sectors to explain deviations in purchasing power parity. Within this framework, the relative productivity differences in tradable vis-à-vis non-tradable sectors between two countries will determine the long-run changes in the real exchange rate. However, Lopcu, Burgaç and Dülger, (2012) found that the relationship between the real effective exchange rate and productivity is not supported for the post 2001 era in Turkey. By testing the cointegration relationship between the real effective exchange rate, relative productivity differentials, real interest rate differentials and net foreign assets, using recently developed techniques …

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