Economic integration, trade, investment and sectoral analyses (Work Package 5)

The pace of economic growth has lagged behind other emerging economies during two decades: only in the early 2000’s there has been an improvement. This lag has translated into social unrest and despair among the workforce, creating major challenges for the governments in the region. Imprudent macroeconomic policies have fuelled inflation and poor economic integration has translated into trade and investment restrictive policies, with tariffs in some sectors averaging two digit levels. Governments of the region face the challenge of boosting integration and cooperation, developing new activities and strengthening the existent ones. This work package will first assess whether fiscal and monetary policies have been growth-inducing and stability-facilitating; then it will quantify the potential of the region in terms of trade and investment flows. In this aspect, the research will deovte special attention to selected sectors of importance for the MED 11, among which tourism, agriculture and fisheries given the fact they are the main source of income for the region.

This work package is led by Dr. Luc de Wulf from the Center for Economic and Social Research (CASE), a polish research centre specialized in international and transition economics.

Publications

Scenarios for the Agricultural Sector in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean
Date of publication: Tuesday, 5 March, 2013
The paper builds predictive scenarios for the agricultural sector of eleven southern and eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMCs), namely Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. First, it...
Institution:
IMRI
Economic Development, Trade and Investment in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries: An Agenda towards a Sustainable Transition
Date of publication: Friday, 22 February, 2013
This policy paper spells out the policy recommendations that emerge from a series of detailed studies undertaken for MEDPRO Work Package 5 on “Economic development, trade and investment” and presents detailed recommendations for the SEMCs and the EU...
Institution:
CASE
What prospects for transport infrastructure and impacts on growth in southern and eastern Mediterranean countries?
Date of publication: Thursday, 21 February, 2013
Lack of adequate infrastructure is a significant inhibitor to increased trade of the countries of the Mediterranean region. Bringing their transport infrastructure to standards comparable with countries of a similar per capita GDP will be costly but...
Institution:
CASE
What can Arab Countries Learn from the Post‐Communist Transition?
Date of publication: Thursday, 31 May, 2012
More than a year has passed since the start of the political uprising against the authoritarian regimes in the Arab world. But, as demonstrated by the ongoing unrest in Syria, the process is far from over. Many politicians and experts, especially...
Institution:
CASE
Manufactured Exports and FDI in Southern Mediterranean Countries: Evolution, Determinants and Prospects
Date of publication: Tuesday, 24 April, 2012
This paper investigates the evolution and determinants of manufactured exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) in 11 southern Mediterranean countries over the period 1985–2009 as well as their prospects under different scenarios pertaining...
Institution:
FEMISE
Shallow vs. Deep Integration in the Southern Mediterranean: Scenarios for the region up to 2030
Date of publication: Thursday, 29 March, 2012
This research develops a quantitative analysis aimed at simulating the trade effects of various integration scenarios between the EU and its Mediterranean Partners (MPs). Results for shallow integration show that the completion of tariff removal is...
Institution:
CASE
Determinants of Growth and Inflation in Southern Mediterranean Countries
Date of publication: Friday, 16 March, 2012
Despite significant economic reforms in many EU neighbouring countries in the Southern Mediterranean, their growth performance has on average been subdued. This study analyses the differences in growth performance and macroeconomic stability across...
Institution:
CCEIA
The EU-Turkey Customs Union: A Model for Future Euro-Med Integration
Date of publication: Wednesday, 14 March, 2012
This paper studying the 1995 EU-Turkey Customs Union (CU) reveals that the CU has been a major instrument of integration of the Turkish economy into the EU and global markets, offering powerful tools to reform the Turkish economy. Turkish...
Institution:
FEMISE
Tourism in the Mediterranean: Scenarios up to 2030
Date of publication: Tuesday, 26 July, 2011
From 1990 to 2010, the 11 countries of the south-eastern Mediterranean region (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey, hereafter SMCs) recorded the highest growth rates in...
Institution:
CASE