This paper tests the desirability and feasibility of establishing a monetary union in GCC countries using a multivariate structural Vector Autoregression Model (VAR) for the period 1980-2006. The paper builds on the earlier work, capitalizing on a methodology that captures supply and demand...

The paper examines the effects of exchange rate fluctuations on disaggregated data comprising 21 exporting sectors (BEC classification) in Turkey. Building on a theoretical model that decomposes movements in the exchange rate into anticipated and unanticipated components, the empirical...

Using data for a sample of developing countries, we analyze the effects of external flows, namely migrants' remittances and FDI flows, on real output growth, price inflation, and components of aggregate demand. The historical evidence indicates unstable patterns of FDI inflows to a sample of...

A widely held view in the economic literature is that productivity growth is an important pathway through which trade liberalization affects the poor. This paper explores the links between trade openness, agricultural productivity, growth and poverty reduction in a panel of Mediterranean...

In 1988, an agreement was reached in Basel to set common requirements of bank capital in order to promote the soundness and stability of the international banking system. In line with the agreement, banks were requir ed to hold capital in proportion to their perceived credit risks, which may...

In 1991, the Central Bank of Egypt increased the minimum capital requirements for the banking industry vis-à-vis risk-weighted assets to 8 percent, along the lines proposed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. In this paper, we investigate the effects of capital regulations on cost of...

The paper investigates asymmetry in the slope of the aggregate supply curve in the face of aggregate demand shocks using annual data for ten countries of the Middle East. The evidence is contrasted to a sample of developing countries and a sample of more developed countries. The empirical...

This investigation evaluates the real and inflationary effects of stabilization policies across countries of the Middle East. Three measures of stabilization policies are under consideration: the growth of the money supply, the growth of government spending and the devaluation of the domestic...