Suchergebnisse

This paper discusses the transition agenda and provides the key economic characteristics of selected Middle East and North Africa countries (MENA) in comparison with selected Central, East and Southeast European countries (CESEE). We intend to identify some regularities in transition processes and to draw policy lessons for MENA countries. Among the key challenges facing the MENA region are job creation, fighting corruption, public sector reforms and trade diversification; the way towards a functioning market economy should not necessarily be as long and controversial as in the CESEE. MENA countries had been implementing market-oriented reforms for more than a decade. Together with free trade agreements concluded with the EU, these reforms have contributed to an increase of FDI inflows. Still, MENA countries have been lagging behind in terms of export performance, competitiveness and restructuring. Numerous impediments to trade and FDI in the MENA region need to be overcome, yet the transition will not require a radical overhaul of the existing system. The sine qua non condition is to achieve high per capita GDP growth. There is no guarantee for success – as illustrated by the experience of CESEE. Moreover, the current global crisis makes policy implementation not easier. If anything, future scenarios must reckon with a slow process of improvements and many backlashes. Transitions and sustainable reforms need to be anchored in a supportive international environment. In the case of many CESEE countries, the EU provided such an anchor. In the case of MENA, such a strong anchor is missing. A newly designed international involvement and especially the strengthened role of the EU will play a crucial role. A comprehensive EU-MENA trade agreement, possibly with an intra-MENA (and Turkey) Customs Union arrangement, would be beneficial to both MENA and the EU.

In the 'knowledge' economy the provision of high levels of human skills and competencies in generating wealth are crucial. Recent developments in theories of human capital formation are particularly relevant to the Gulf and MENA regions. Recent reconfigurations of the theory in the West are discussed; much local work needs to be done to reshape theory to make it useful in the Middle East. Understanding of entry into the labour market in the West has become more sophisticated, and the impact of the global economy on skills and employment has been investigated. Despite great variation amongst Gulf and Middle Eastern states, issues relating to employment, education and training are of widespread concern. Coordinated planning and policies and the role of government there are important, and a critical factor is the ability of individuals, firms, institutions and even cultures to learn from technological innovation and change and thus to indigenise it successfully. ; peer-reviewed

Abstract
The Middle East North Africa (MENA) region is witnessing a wave of bank consolidations, with many mega-mergers taking place in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. These will result in creating large banks, reducing the number of market players and increasing market concentration; which is already high. A further increase in concentration may raise concerns about the resulting dominance of large banks and the consequences on their pricing behaviour. The interrelationships between market structure and pricing behaviour is summarised by the popular model of industrial economics called the structure–conduct–performance (SCP) model. Consequently, we test the prevalence of this model in a sample of 15 MENA banking sectors to detect the possible existence of an impact running particularly from the structure of banking markets to the pricing behaviour (power) of banks in order to predict a possible emergence of oligopolistic behaviour following bank consolidations. Using a two-stage least squares model, we found a positive and significant impact of market concentration on bank pricing, suggesting that an further increase in MENA banking markets' concentration may boost banks pricing power and persuade them to increase their returns at the expense of their customers.

During the course of the so-called Arab Spring, observers were quick to refer to the uprisings as »Facebook revolutions« or »Twitter revolutions«. Although the important role of social media in the 2011 upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is widely acknowledged, its impact on political processes in the region remains contested and contradictory. Rather than looking at social media through a transformation or security lens, the research presented here focused on how debates on three events in the MENA region – the emergence of a video of a rape on Cairo's Tahrir Square in June 2014, anti-fracking protests in southern Algeria in early 2015, and Saudi Arabia's military intervention in Yemen in March 2015 – unfolded on Twitter. Closely tracing Twitter debates on these incidents shed light on Twitter's role in important social and political discussions as well as on the scope and patterns of Twitter networks and digital solidarities. In other words, it highlighted the various ways in which Twitter was used by ordinary people, activists, media outlets, and officials, and in doing so, it provides an idea of the political impact such debates can have via Twitter. The research also revealed that the breadth of opinion on Twitter far exceeds that of traditional media in the MENA region, and the more repressive a context, the more important Twitter becomes. Furthermore, Twitter, in forging digital solidarities, contributes to deepening existing social and political cleavages. That is, the platform is not an autonomous digital space following logics different from those in the physical world. Rather, the dynamics of Twitter are strongly driven by local historical experience, social patterns, and national politics. (Autorenreferat)

"This book presents an in-depth description of innovation and technology management in the private sector of the MENA region countries. It also contains a comprehensive coverage of all important concepts of innovation and technology management in the private sector of the MENA region countries."

Abstract Beyond the most immediate and devastating effects being felt by the local populace, the war in Ukraine is also having severe repercussions in other world regions, particularly the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where we find significant effects on domestic and regional politics. This contribution discusses conflict potential along these two dimensions and how they are interrelated, including with global politics. First, the effects of the war were quickly felt at the domestic level via rising prices and shortages of (subsidized) staples. A deteriorating economic situation is heating existing societal conflicts that had led to waves of mass uprisings in the MENA over the last decade, which are very likely to re-appear in the near future. We discuss recent developments in light of existing knowledge about the nexus between socioeconomic grievances and (non-)violent mobilization. Second, we reflect on changes to regional and global politics and their impact on conflicts in the region. The EU's sudden need for alternative oil and gas suppliers has improved the strategic position of Gulf countries, also vis-à-vis Iran in the rivalry over regional hegemony. This shift empowers such authoritarian regimes that support other autocracies as well as conflict parties in civil wars in the region. Instead of allying with either the West or Russia, the ruling elites' relationship with global powers remains opportunistic. Cooperation with Russia and China might very well aggravate political grievances rather than remedy structural socioeconomic shortcomings—both of which will continue to fuel preexisting lines of conflict in the region.

Nations in the region have subordinated social policy to economic growth. The pandemic has demonstrated the need for universal provision of health care and other essential assistance.

Nations in the Middle East and North Africa have traditionally seen the primary function of social policy as serving the goal of economic growth. But the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for a more balanced approach to make societies more resilient, with social protection policies that provide citizens with basic security throughout their lives. Beyond cash transfer programs and other emergency measures, governments should recognize the need for universal provision of health care and other essential assistance. Otherwise they risk leaving the Arab Spring's popular demands for dignity unheeded.