Financing for Development in the MENA Region

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Awdeh

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.

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 995
Author(s):  
Rafael Domínguez ◽  
Iliana Olivié

Among the consequences of the emergence of new regional powers to global is, first, the emergence, consolidation or strengthening of new donors and, secondly, changing map of development and global poverty. It is in this new context in which new development agenda -the post-2015- will be configured, which will come to replace, and old, Millennium Development Goals. This article discusses the current state of the gestation of this post-MDG one year of approval schedule and considering that the debate on its content and government is still open. Specifically, it discusses the growing importance of inequality as part of the global development agenda and details on the possible future governance system of international cooperation which, as of today, struggling UN and OECD.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097491012110311
Author(s):  
Salma Zaiane ◽  
Fatma Ben Moussa

The purpose of the study is to identify bank specific, macroeconomic, and stability determinants of both conventional and Islamic bank performance. We also try to identify evidence on the impact of financial crisis and political instability during the Arab Spring (AS) period. The study covers a sample of 123 banks (34 Islamic banks and 89 conventional banks from 13 Middle East and North Africa [MENA] countries) over the period 2000–2013. We use different proxies of performance as dependent variables: return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE), net income margin (NIM), and estimate several regressions using the dynamic generalized method of moments. Our results reveal that bank size, asset quality, specialization, and diversification are the major bank specific factors affecting performance of Islamic and conventional banks. Besides, macroeconomic indicators (GDP and inflation) and regulatory quality influence both types of banks differently. Finally, both the financial crisis and political instability negatively affect bank performance.


2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. ATKINSON

The UN commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 poses a major challenge. It is, first and foremost, a political challenge to wealthy countries, to provide the necessary transfer of resources, and to developing countries, to make effective use of these transfers. But it is also an intellectual challenge, to economists and other scientists, to better understand the processes by which the MDGs can be achieved. This article focuses on two aspects. On the substantive side, it examines how we can achieve increased funding for development, particularly via new methods of finance, such as global taxes. On the intellectual side, it describes how a new branch of economics is developing – global public finance – that can contribute to the analysis of new sources of funding for the MDGs and of the working of the global economy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (24) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hichem Dkhili

Background. Studies on environmental performance/quality and economic growth show inconclusive results. Objective. The aim of the present study is to assess the non-linear relationship between environmental performance and economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region from 2002–2018. Methods. A sample of fourteen (14) MENA countries was used in the present analysis. However, due to important differences between countries in this region, the whole sample was divided into two sub-samples; nine Middle Eastern countries (MEAS) and five North African countries (NAF). We performed the panel smooth transition regression model as an econometric approach. Discussion. Empirical results indicate a threshold effect in the environmental performance and economic growth relationship. The threshold value differs from one group of countries to another. More specifically, we found that the impact of environmental performance and economic growth is positive and significant only if a certain threshold level has been attained. Until then, the effect remains negative. Conclusions. The findings of the present study are of great importance for policymakers since they determine the optimal level of environmental performance required to act positively on the level of economic growth. MENA countries should seek to improve their environmental performance index in order to grow output. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.


BISMA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 390
Author(s):  
Wahyuningsih Wahyuningsih

Abstract: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are designed as the successor of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as the MDGs’ goals have not been achieved by the end of 2015. The SDGs is an action plan for the humankind, the planet, and the prosperity that also aims to strengthen universal peace in a broad freedom. It exists to overcome extreme poverty as the greatest global challenge. The SDGs concept is needed as a new development framework that accommodates all the changes occur after the 2015-MDGs, especially related to the world's changes since 2000 regarding the issue of deflation of natural resources, environmental degradation, crucial climate change, social protection, food and energy security, and a more pro-poor development. MDGs aimed only for the developing countries, while SDGs have a more universal goal. The SDGs is present to replace the MDGs with better goals to face the world future challenge. It has 17 goals and 169 targets that will stimulate actions for the next 15 years, focusing on the significant areas for the humanity and the planet, i.e., the people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. Keywords:     MDGs, SDGs, Social Welfare, Development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Mongi Lassoued

With a loan portfolio estimated at $124.1 billion in 2018, 139.9 million borrowers benefited from microfinance services, compared to just 98 million in 2009 (World Bank Group, 2018). Despite a low quality portfolio and high borrowers' costs, the portfolio in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) shows a remarkable increase of 20% but with a decrease of 6.6 points (Microfinance Barometer, 2019). Most of empirical studies have focused on the issue of microfinance, and research conducted on the effectiveness of microcredit is surprisingly scarce or even non-existent in the MENA region. In addition, microcredit could lead to sustainable development in the region via an income effect. The main objective of this paper is to determine the impact of microcredit on sustainable development for 10 selected MENA countries over the period 1990-2018. Empirical results paradoxically show a negative effect of microcredit on sustainable development. Although, the limitations of data, the present paper also contributes to the existing literature by advising conditions for the success of microcredit aiming for a better promotion of sustainable development.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-7
Author(s):  
Gupta S. N. ◽  
◽  
Gupta Naveen ◽  
Gupta Shivani ◽  
◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Lucy McMahon

After criticism that the Millennium Development Goals overlooked violence, the fourth of the twelve goals proposed by the High Level Panel on the Post 2015 Development Agenda was to ‘build peace’. Despite the vague understanding of what ‘peace’ would actually mean within this agenda, the argument laid out is clear: the only types of violence prevention that have a significant role in the post-2015 agenda are those that are also instrumental to economic growth. This chapter explores the place of violence in the development stories of the BRICS countries. I highlight the kinds of violence that appear to be essential in order for current patterns of economic growth to continue.


Author(s):  
Francois Vaillancourt ◽  
Richard M. Bird

The question considered in this chapter is whether decentralization is likely to hurt or help national unity in “countries at risk.” We begin with a literature review, focusing on three particular questions: the size and number of nations; the determinants of decentralization; and, finally, and bearing most directly on our topic, the links between decentralization and political outcomes. We next set out in capsule form some of the very mixed stories of linkages between decentralization and national unity found in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, before considering more closely the ongoing discussions of secession in three European countries – Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom. We conclude that the impact of decentralization on national unity is so complex and context-sensitive that no general answers to our initial question emerge: in some instances, decentralization may be an inducement for regions to stay in a country; in others, however, it may prove to be only a way station on the road to the exit.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document