This paper investigates the relationship between technological change and the relative demand of skilled workers in Tunisia. For this purpose, we use a firm level database drawn from the national annual survey report on firms (NASRF) provided by the Tunisian National Institute of Statistics...

This paper develops a microsimulation analysis to evaluate the impact of trade liberalization policies in Egypt on income redistribution. Our analysis aims at identifying the effects of those measures on redistribution aspects. For this, we rely on a macro - micro approach integrating results...

This paper is an attempt to contribute to the research on poverty-alleviation potential of trade, by exploring the poverty effects of agricultural trade liberalization in Tunisia. Specifically, the study uses a small open economy computable general equilibrium (CGE) that includes technology...

This paper focuses on Tunisia, which like other developing countries, has allocated increasing levels of resources to education, particularly higher education, mainly through public funding over the past few decades. In 2005-2008, public expenditure on education amounted to around 7.4 percent of...

This paper evaluates the contribution of inequality of opportunity to inequality in earnings in Egypt and analyzes its evolution across four age cohorts and over three periods of time. On average, inequality of opportunity is found to account for 30 percent of total earnings inequality. The...

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether Islamic banks have greater market power than conventional banks. Indeed Islamic banks may benefit from a captive clientele, owing to religious principles, which would be charged greater prices. To measure market power, we compute Lerner indices on...

How can governments achieve substantial increases in productive private investment? ‘Improve the investment climate’ is the dominant advice. However, national-level investment climate approaches have been criticized for not giving adequate attention to context and feasibility. This paper...

The paper empirically analyzes the determinants of nonperforming loans (NPL) and the potential impact of both business and institutional environment on credit risk exposure of banks in the MENA region. Looking at a sample of 46 banks in 12 countries over the period 2002–2006, we find that,...

Using a new exceptional dataset on 80 poverty pockets in Lebanon in 2004, we propose to test the confessional and political channels of influence through which these pockets are potentially able to attract development assistance. Lebanon constitutes a perfect case study for the interaction of...

Although there is literature about off-balance sheet (OBS) activities in the banking system, this is the first paper that investigates the off-balance sheet activities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) banking industry. It aims to test the tax regulatory hypothesis and the market...