{"title":"On the nexus between economic growth and bank-based financial development: evidence from Morocco","authors":"Ahmed Kchikeche, Ouafaà Khallouk","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1930830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1930830","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In this paper, we investigate the causal link between bank-based financial development and economic growth in Morocco between 2003 and 2018 using a vector autoregression framework. We test for causality between economic growth and four different measures of bank-based financial development in both the short and the long run. Our results show that bank-based financial development causes economic growth in the short and the long run. Moreover, our results show that economic growth only causes bank-based financial development in the long run. At last, we show that the Moroccan banking sector’s integration with the international financial markets only affects the causal link between economic growth and bank-based financial development by providing short-run liquidity to Moroccan banks. Based on these results, barriers to the financial development of the Moroccan banking sector should be investigated and public policy should focus on designing appropriate policies and programs to alleviate these barriers in order to stimulate the growth of the Moroccan economy.","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"245 - 264"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1930830","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60485134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Macroeconomic policies and the Iranian economy in the era of sanctions","authors":"M. Kandil, Ida A. Mirzaie","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1898190","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898190","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT\u0000 This paper examines the impact of macroeconomic policies on the Iranian economy. The study covers the time between 1978-2017. The results illustrate the role of the money supply and government spending in supporting growth, although contributing to inflationary pressures in the long run, attesting to supply-side constraints. In the short-run, policies have aimed to provide support to the economy in the face of continued fluctuations with the oil price and spillovers from the geopolitical tensions attributed to sanctions. The exchange rate has played a key role in absorbing, but at times magnifying the adverse effects of these tensions. Continued deterioration of the fundamentals of the Iranian economy forced an official devaluation as the exchange rate proved to be misaligned with the fundamentals of the economy against the backdrop of the limited capacity of the Central Bank to continue to intervene to defend stability. In the meantime, a parallel exchange rate market has been flourishing to satisfy the market’s needs as culminated in the spread between the market exchange rate and the official exchange rate. A wider spread between the parallel market rate and the official rate has signified overvaluation of the rial and proved to be a major source of inflationary expectations and pressures. Wider spread has demanded frequent interventions by the Central Bank to defend the official rate and ultimately has forced an official devaluation of the exchange rate, further increasing inflationary pressures with negative effects on the output supply given high dependency on imports for consumption and investment.","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"78 - 98"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898190","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45692034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimal government size and economic growth in developing and MENA countries: A dynamic panel threshold analysis","authors":"Ridha Nouira, M. Kouni","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1898231","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898231","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The research for this paper was conducted in order to investigate the optimal size of government as well as its effect on economic growth in selected MENA and developing countries over the period from 1988 to 2016. The results reveal that there is a government expenditure threshold effect on economic growth for all panel groups. Indeed, in accordance with an important body of recent literature, the threshold is between 10% and 30% for the whole sample, between 20% and 30% for MENA countries and between 10% and 20% for developing countries. The results obtained from the CS-ARDL model, recently developed by Chudik et al. (2017. Is There a Debt-threshold Effect on Output Growth? Review of Economics and Statistics, 99(1), 135–150. doi:10.1162/REST_a_00593), also showed that the relationship between government expenditure and economic growth is non-linear. Hence, we have found evidence of an inverted U shaped relationship between government expenditure and economic growth.","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"59 - 77"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898231","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60485025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tackling market distortions to rise productivity: a study using firm-level manufacturing sector data from Morocco","authors":"J. Chauffour, Jose L. Diaz-Sanchez","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1898230","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898230","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper studies the effect of market distortions in the manufacturing sector in Morocco. Recent microdata are used to calculate the extent of resource misallocation associated to these distortions and the potential total factor productivity (TFP) gain resulting from their removal. Market distortions in the manufacturing sector in Morocco are higher compared with developed countries and slightly more important compared with other developing countries, such as China and India. These distortions decreased between 2007 and 2013. Full liberalization would raise TFP by about 84%. If distortions are removed to the level of selected developed countries with better resource allocation, the increase in TFP would be of 56%. The paper also suggests that industries that are more opened to competition such as textiles industries present lower levels of market distortions compared with more protected industries with relatively little competition, such as the food industry. Besides, some evidence is provided showing that smaller firms face more extensive distortions compared to medium and larger firms. The main results of the paper are robust to an alternative estimation that uses a different methodological framework with a less extensive theoretical framework.","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"172 - 190"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898230","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45008285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Magda Kandil Research Prize","authors":"","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1935423","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1935423","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"212 - 213"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1935423","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49342059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Global value chain integration and productivity: the case of Turkish manufacturing firms","authors":"Yılmaz Kılıçaslan, Uğur Aytun, Oytun Meçik","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1898189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898189","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In this study, we examine how firms’ positions (supplier, final, or both) in both global and domestic value chains (GVC and DVC) affect their productivity. This is said to be the first attempt in exploring the impact of the integration of firms on the GVCs on productivity generation in the Turkish manufacturing industry at the firm-level. The analysis is based on firm-level data obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and covers the period from 2003 to 2015. The data used in the analysis includes all firms employing 20 or more employees in the Turkish manufacturing industry. Our findings based on both fixed-effects and GMM estimations show that while supplier position on the domestic chain has a negative effect on productivity, the same position in GVC vanishes this effect. The final firm position in the GVC, on the other hand, provide more benefits to SMEs than to large-scale firms.","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"150 - 171"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898189","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46861286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gendered patterns of industrialization in MENA","authors":"Yasemin Dildar","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1898188","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898188","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper analyzes different trajectories followed by Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries with regard to feminization of the labor force. It uses accounting decomposition analysis for the manufacturing sector employment in eight MENA countries from 1983 to 2013. Overall feminization has been weak in the region, even for the best-performing countries. The trends in feminization are driven by labor-intensive industries, particularly textile and clothing, with Jordan being an exception with feminization in capital-intensive industries. As traditionally ‘female’ jobs lose their significance with structural transformation and capital deepening, manufacturing employment opportunities for women disappear, confirming the defeminization literature.","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"128 - 149"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898188","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46185514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Farzanegan, P. Alaedini, Khayyam Azizimehr, M. Habibpour
{"title":"Effect of oil revenues on size and income of Iranian middle class","authors":"M. Farzanegan, P. Alaedini, Khayyam Azizimehr, M. Habibpour","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1898232","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898232","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper investigates the effect of oil revenues on the middle-class size and income in Iran. Following Kharas (2017. The unprecedented expansion of the global middle class: An update. The Brookings Institution), it uses an absolute measure to define the middle class as those who earn between US$11 and US$110 per day (2011 PPP). The study employs annual time series data for 1965–2017 and a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model along with impulse response and variance decomposition analyses. Findings indicate that the response of the middle class to positive oil-income shocks in Iran is positive and significant. It is further shown that the channels of international non-oil trade, service sector, and overall economic development are important in understanding the relationship between the oil income and the middle class in Iran. These results are robust when controlling for other channels in the nexus of oil income and middle class as well as alternative definitions of middle-class income based on relative measures obtained from Iran’s income and expenditure household surveys.","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"27 - 58"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898232","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45965847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Arab inequality puzzle: the role of income sources in Egypt and Tunisia","authors":"C. Krafft, Elizabeth E. Davis","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1898233","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898233","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Egypt and Tunisia are perceived to have high levels of inequality, yet based on standard measures, inequality in these two countries is not unusually high. In this study we explore a different dimension of inequality in Egypt and Tunisia by using a more complete measure of income and decomposing inequality by income sources (factor components). We find that higher-income households have more income sources than lower-income ones. Informal wage work and earnings from household enterprises are more common in Egypt than Tunisia, while formal wage work, pensions, and social assistance are more common in Tunisia. Social assistance does little to offset income inequality in either country. Enterprise earnings (in Egypt) and agricultural earnings (in Tunisia) as well as rent and other capital income in both countries play a large role in inequality. High inequality in these non-wage income sources and unequal access to income sources tied to wealth and capital may help explain why inequality is perceived to be high.","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"1 - 26"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898233","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41552297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Macro-finance determinants and the stock market development: evidence from Morocco’","authors":"Karim Belcaid, Ahmed El Ghini","doi":"10.1080/17938120.2021.1898191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898191","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the role of the macroeconomic outlook in explaining the returns volatility from 1998 to 2018 in Morocco. Our findings show that the inclusion of low-frequency macroeconomic information can improve the explaining ability, particularly for the long-term variance component. Information in some indicators which represent forward-looking variables (i.e. international economic situation, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation) seem to take into account the current economic situation, and remain useful in the Moroccan stock market development. Nevertheless, the historical realized volatility exceeds all models with macro-finance data in terms of explaining the long-term volatility. Therefore, it is noteworthy that investors and decision makers are considered to be more affected by the stock results, namely the past returns performance and the historical volatility. In general, modeling the long-term volatility component has a great potential and is very useful for portfolio selection, hedging decisions and macroeconomic risk management.","PeriodicalId":43862,"journal":{"name":"Middle East Development Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"99 - 127"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/17938120.2021.1898191","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46023510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}