It is fair to say that the 2007 Credit Crisis was born a year ago, in August 2007. Since its onset, economists and finance experts have been conjecturing whether as a result, the world economy will be moving into a depression and at what final cost? By the end of 2007, the United States and...

Using an evolutionary perspective that places the present phase of human development in a historical context, the paper examines the state and nature of human development and identifies factors that determine its enhancement for the 21st Century. For many millennia, the evolution of Homo sapiens...

The paper is divided into two parts: conceptual and factual. A conceptual review of the historical processes that led to the present state of human diversities and differentiations has not been optimistic. Technological changes, especially those associated with the industrial revolution that...

Poverty is a complex phenomenon, a consequence of lack of growth and inequality. Effective policies require technical and empirical understanding of poverty that is combined with efficient institutions and a supportive system of social values. The paper focuses on four basic tenants of the...

Social Security (SS) programs are integral parts of a generous welfare system instituted in the oil economies during the past quarter century. This paper assesses the future viability of these programs with special reference to the case of Kuwait. A review of the financial structure of the SS...

A review of recent studies that attempt to estimate the potential gain from the Arab region integration in the World economy indicates initial losses or insignificant gains. This is not surprising since the fundamentals of the economic structures and institutions in the Arab World are not...

Recent advances in information technology made capital and technology rather than labor the main mobile factors of production, creating additional challenges to the development and utilization of human resources. An examination of the quality of basic education and skill composition of Arab...

The paper starts with the premise that the basic requirement of an Islamic economic system is that decisions pass through an Islamic filter. It is shown that the requirement of a moral filter is not unique to Islamic economic systems. The objective of the paper is to examine whether, given a...

The purpose of the paper is to examine the role population dynamics plays as a source of social and political conflict or disorder. The conclusions reached are based on conceptual analyses and empirical observations from African, Asian and Middle East countries. The main conclusion of the paper...