Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Financing for Development was addressed by the international community since more than 25 years, when the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development (Monterrey, Mexico, March 2002) urged mobilising and increasing the effective use of financial resources to fulfil the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals. In 2015, a new Development Agenda was designed and was based on the Development Finance. Consequently, the efficient exploitation of traditional and innovative finance resources in economic, social and human development has become a global top priority. This study analyses the impact of 7 resources of financial flows on 6 socio-economic variables in a sample of 19 MENA countries over the period 1991–2015 to test the efficient exploitation of these resources in development. The results show that government spending and official development assistance are the most important factor in boosting development in the MENA region. International trade plays a limited role in financing development, whereas foreign direct investment has the least effect on MENA development.

1. Introduction -- 2. Quality of institutions and the macro-return to education: The case of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) -- 3. Short and Long Run Causality Between Remittances and Economic Growth in MENA Countries: A Panel ARDL Approach -- 4.Asymmetric impact of oil price shocks on tourism: evidence from selected MENA countries -- 5. Youth Unemployment and Quality of Education in the MENA: An empirical Investigation -- 6. Military spending and Economic Development: Evidence from the MENA region -- 7. Foreign Aid, Development, and International Migration: An Exploration of the MENA Region -- 8. The Resource Curse: How can Oil shape MENA Countries' Economic Development? -- 9. Towards a Circular Economy in the MENA Region: Insights from the Water-Food Nexus -- 10. Globalization and Environmental Pollution: Where does the MENA region stand -- 11. ICT and growth in MENA countries: what are the involved transmission channels?. .

In this paper we estimate gravity models to see whether trade volumes of countries in the MENA region are significantly lower than what would be expected given their economic, cultural and geographical characteristics. Our empirical results show that the variables used in standard gravity models cannot explain a significant part of MENA's trade performance, particularly on exports. We then go on to 'augment' the standard gravity model with relevant variables from the World Bank's Business Enterprise surveys. Our results further show that these variables, and in particular transport constraints

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is increasingly embebbed into the global order in the transnational field, namely through the intra- and interregional interactions of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with state actors. The phenomenon is investigated in the framework of the "international NGO triangle", namely the system of relations between the nongovernmental organization, the host state and the external partner. Case studies include the activities of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect in Iraq, regional NGOs cooperating with the ECOSOC, and the Qatari "multiple track approach" after the Gulf rift of 2017. However, the extent to which NGOs operating in the region have actual agency (and, in parallel, the extent of their dependency on state actors) can be debated. Consequently, the strengthening of the transnational sector does not necessarily limit the leverage of states as previously predicted.

This book offers new perspectives on the economic development of the Middle East and North Africa region. Offering both theoretical studies and empirical country studies, it examines micro- and macroeconomic issues and provides deep insights into the development challenges and prospects of various countries in the region. The articles examine a wide range of development issues, including economic growth, natural resource use, food security, poverty and inequality, corruption and transparency, military spending, water and resource scarcity, agriculture and aid effectiveness, and other relevant issues. The volume is aimed at scholars in economic and development studies as well as policy-makers and investors interested in the economic development of the MENA region.

Although the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has witnessed a long series of conflicts since the end of the Second World War, it is now in the unprecedented situation where nearly all MENA states are involved to a certain extent in ongoing conflict (e.g. in the Iraq–Syria area; Libya; Yemen). MENA states are involved to different degrees in these conflicts, ranging from direct involvement on the ground or in the air, to the arming and training of armed non-state actors. This report assesses the evolution of the armed forces, procurement and the defence industry in the countries of the MENA region, starting with the major regional powers, whose leverage extends across the region. Second, it looks at the middle regional powers, those who have some capacity for power projection but mostly at the sub-regional level. This is followed by analysis of the remaining states, those with little or no capacity for power projection. Finally, the report looks at those states on whose territory war is currently being waged, where governments and non-state actors are vying for control of the national territory. The report ends with a forecast for military development in the region.

The volume deals with competition among regional and external players for the redistribution of power and international status in the Middle East and North Africa, with a focus on Russia's renewed role and the implications for US interests. Over the last few years, a crisis of legitimacy has beset the liberal international order. In this context, the configuration of regional orders has come into question, as in the extreme case of the current collapse in the Middle East. The idea of a "Russian resurgence" in the Middle East set against a perceived American withdrawal has captured the attention of policymakers and scholars alike, warranting further examination. This volume, a joint publication by ISPI and the Atlantic Council, gathers analysis on Washington's and Moscow's policy choices in the MENA region and develops case studies of the two powers' engagament in the countries beset by major crises.

Since its birth on the planet Earth, man has incessantly embarked on a long journey in search of its "being". He formed tribal clans, fought endless series of wars in search of wealth and power. He attempted to discover, understand and subdue the universe to its limited mind. His imagination created then herds of good and bad gods to hide his weaknesses, fears and limitations. Often, he proclaimed himself divine and godly, when, in reality he lives in fear and anxiety facing death and threats by unseen killer bacteria or natural elements that impacted and reduced his pride, arrogance, and self-worship to ultimate death. Glory, wealth, power, and physical well being soon evaporated into some dark and narrow dungeon. This self-proclaimed superman-woman, who defies all laws and rules, keep dreaming about being eternal, while reality transforms them sometimes into weak, empty and helpless vegetables. Their worlds of violence, threats and greed continually collapsed for no return. This research focuses upon this self-proclaimed "superhuman" of the Middle East, who lives and dies in a state of slavery not imposed upon him by force, rather a result of personal consent. The authors aim to clarify the paradigm of relationship between despotism and consent.