Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
270
result(s) for
"Middle East Economic integration."
Sort by:
From political to economic awakening in the Arab world
The forces unleashed by the Arab political awakening have the power to be transformational. One critical parameter of success will be whether the Arab political awakening is accompanied by a concurrent economic awakening. Such an economic awakening would need to generate quality employment for the millions of young men and women who are looking for jobs and a decent life. In most Arab countries, it has become evident that the development paradigm of the past cannot achieve the qualitative and inclusive growth expected by the population. Economic integration through increased trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) is one key means available to policy makers in the short to medium term to put the Partnership countries on a higher path of sustainable economic growth and in a position to decisively tackle the problem of unemployment, especially youth unemployment. The comprehensiveness of the proposed integration strategy is also designed to facilitate its political feasibility and acceptance. Although any single efficiency-enhancing reform may hurt a particular group or individual, once it is part of a broad and comprehensive reform agenda, the potential negative effects of reform tend to cancel out each other, making everyone a winner.
eBook
Regional economic integration in the Middle East and North Africa
Limited integration has stifled the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's ability to tap into its significant potential for economic growth and job creation. The MENA region is among the least integrated in the world economy. Although home to 5.5 percent of the world's population (on average for 2008-10) and 3.9 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), the region's share of nonoil world trade is only 1.8 percent. By contrast, countries that have opted for a liberal trade and investment regime most notably in East Asia have experienced a significant increase in trade, employment, and per capita income. If petroleum and gas are taken into consideration, the MENA region is far more integrated in the world economy, with total exports accounting for 6.2 percent of total world trade. Exports of oil and gas represent about three-quarters of MENA's total exports. This study shows that, in spite of commendable reform efforts in recent years, the MENA region continues to face constraints to economic competitiveness in general, and trade barriers in particular. Of critical importance is the need to improve trade-related infrastructure and strengthen trade facilitation activities. Moreover, this study demonstrates that preferential trade agreements (PTAs), though helpful in many respects, do not significantly expand exports. Instead, the focus in must be on opening up to the rest of the world, which may require that individual countries aggressively pursue unilateral liberalization policies. While regional cooperation and integration can bring benefits, these efforts can also pose significant costs if not carried out in a manner that is compatible with broader global integration trends. Finally, while there is reasonable potential to enhance trade in goods, trade in services is a major untapped source of trade growth within the region and between the region and the rest of the world. The main objective of this report is to assess the achievements in, opportunities for, and challenges of deeper regional economic cooperation and integration within the MENA region and between the region and the rest of the world.
eBook
Trade competitiveness of the Middle East and North Africa : policies for export diversification
International trade was deeply affected by the global financial and economic crisis. Mimicking worldwide trends, imports from and exports to the Middle East and North Africa dropped significantly in 2009. This sudden decline in global trade should not divert attention away from four major developments in global economic integration that have shaped the region's trade policies and performance over the past decade: the emergence of global supply chains, the growth of trade in services, the rise of China and India as major international trading powers, and regional integration. The first development is the rise of global production networks in which different stages of the production of a single good occur at different locations. As a result of this development, consumer products often contain parts, components, and inputs from a large number of countries. The second major trend relates to trade in services. With the wave of liberalization and of information and communications-related technological developments, off-shoring in services such as back-office work processes, call center operations, medical transcription, accounting, and legal research has boomed. India is a good example of a country that has hugely benefited from this trend. The third important development is the emergence of China and India as new trade, innovation, and growth poles alongside the United States and Europe. The fourth development is the increase in regional and preferential trade agreements, which have been proliferating, not least because progress in multilateral trade negotiations under the auspices of the World Trade Organization has been slow. Integration with selected partners can help countries reap benefits from international integration while avoiding the large-scale adjustment needs that are often associated with broader-based trade reforms. The Middle East and North Africa comprises countries that are resource-poor but labor-abundant, resource-rich and labor-abundant, and resource-rich and labor-importing, each displaying its own idiosyncrasies. The eleven chapters of this volume examine the region's trade policy reforms and performance by focusing on the four key developments in international trade, with a twist. Instead of examining production chains as such, the volume focuses on export diversification (part one), a major development challenge in the region, especially for oil exporters. It then explores services trade (part two), the relations with China and India (part three), and regional integration (part four).
eBook
The Political Economy of Regional Cooperation in the Middle East
This book explores the current anatomy of regional cooperation and why it has often failed to take hold. It offers an alternative view of politics and international relations in the Middle East. The findings show that co-operation between many of the more open regimes, such as Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine and Turkey can pave the way to increased stability in the region. The authors argue that focusing on international and regional factors alone is insufficient in explaining the prevailing instability in the region. Instead they highlight domestic factors as crucial to understanding conflict and co-operation in the Middle East. Using many examples and looking particularly at Turkey's experiences, this study shows why it is essential to mobilize domestic support for co-operation amongst countries and regions of the Middle East. Without such support from economic and social groups, inter-governmental co-operation is less likely to last.
eBook
Regional Integration and National Disintegration in the Post-Arab Spring Middle East
This edited collection explores the processes of change currently shaping the Middle East in the post-Arab Spring context. The national and transnational challenges that have emerged since the uprisings in 2011 - particularly the increase in extremism, and the emergence and intensification of civil wars - have garnered significant attention in both media coverage and academic research. However, simultaneous (and far older) processes of regional integration - varying in form from free trade agreements like the Greater Arab Free Trade Area to economic and political unions like the Gulf Cooperation Council - have also been influenced by the changes of the past few years. This text draws together innovative new research from different fields to explore how far the changes shaping the Middle East are leading to the region's polarisation between states that are integrating politically and economically with each other on the one hand, and states that are disintegrating internally on the other. The book includes contributions from scholars and practitioners from around the world, and who work in different fields including Middle Eastern studies, international relations, international political economy, foreign policy studies, and security studies. Chapters vary in focus and approach, with the first section focusing on security-related issues, particularly civil wars and terrorism. A second group of chapters looks at political economy in the region, and examines domestic, regional and global practices and processes, including foreign aid, trade, and development. A final group of chapters investigates socio-political and socio-cultural issues, including the role of civil society in the region, migration, and international law.
eBook
