Cluster policy has become a method of choice for policymakers in many countries. Promoting strong localized industries is an appealing perspective for practitioners, as it can be seen as a way to anchor economic activity in regions in an era of globalization. If cluster policy is successful, it...

In 2003, the Global Development Finance Annual Report took formal notice of remittances as an important source of external development finance for the first time, listing Morocco as the 4th largest remittance recipient among developing countries. This paper examines the positive and negative...

This paper evaluates the strength of social and economic forces that affect the pressure to emigrate 'out of Africa' for four distinctly different African countries (Morocco, Egypt, Senegal and Ghana). In general, great expectations about attaining a higher living standard and expected low job...

What determines remittances – altruism or enlightened self-interest - and do remittances trigger additional migration? These two questions are examined empirically in Egypt, Turkey and Morocco for households with family members living abroad. Results show, first, that one cannot clearly...

This study evaluates the effects of the current Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Agreement for the EU and the Mediterranean region, in order to assist policy makers in defining the next steps in the Euro-Mediterranean Road map till 2010 and beyond. It provides quantitative, qualitative and sectoral...

Science-based policy analysis becomes increasingly important in the globalised world. Complex economic and social structures need to be thoroughly analysed and direct and indirect effects of policy measures should be identified and, if possible, quantified. Economic policy modelling has a long...

The models of Lucas (1993), Krugman (1987), Stokey (1988, 1991) and Young (1991) predict that productivity growth is associated with the production of increasingly sophisticated products, and that high-end goods should exhibit more productivity growth than low-end goods. This paper investigates...