Suchergebnisse

Reforms, Market Dynamics and Productivity in Developing Countries -- Exit-Entry Dynamics: Case of the Manufacturing Sector in Jordan -- Industrial Dynamics and Productivity in Morocco: A Quantitative Assessment -- Entry, Exit, and Productivity in Tunisian Manufacturing Industries -- Entry, Exit and Productivity in Turkish Manufacturing Industries -- Economic Policies, Firms' Entry and Exit and Economic Performance: A Cross Country Analysis

Recent empirical evidence on the impact of reforms in a number of developing countries shows that such persistence of inefficiency and market power is specific to MENA. Showcasing in-depth analyses from Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey (with comparative data from Asia and Latin America), this book focuses on the dynamics of firm entry and exit to help explain the low productivity of the region. The results suggest a number of policy recommendations designed to foster competition, which, in turn, would contribute to innovation, productivity growth, and improved return on capital investments.

AbstractThis paper seeks to explain the difference across countries of the impact of national growth on the growth of the income of the poor. Traditionally, studies attempting to explain such differences investigate only the impact of some additional variables on the income level of the poor. Here, we introduce interaction terms to explain the change in the elasticity of income of the poor to national income. We focus on the role of formal and informal institutions and religions; variables which have rarely been considered in this context. The results show that only formal institutions (i.e.,Resistance to corruption) and, to some extent, informal institutions (i.e.,Trust all) explain the differences. Religion has no impact. The findings also show that improvements in theResistance to corruptionbenefits the extremely poor more than the poor.

This paper draws on the economic and political sciences literature to examine the possibility that the Arab Spring could bring the region out of the past vicious circle by which regional integration is stalled by political tensions and the latter are exacerbated by the lack of integration. This analysis suggests that the outcome depends on a number of factors, among which democracy plays a major role. Arguments based on the relationship between human capital and the development of democracy are put forward to support the likelihood of a virtuous circle developing.