Economic Performance in the Middle East and North Africa: Institutions, Corruption and Reform / Edition 1

by Serdar Sayan

Overview

The economies of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are in dire need of substantial institutional reform to improve their growth performance so as to create enough jobs for millions of entrants into their respective job markets, and to fight poverty and income inequality. This is necessary not only to reduce the risk of social unrest and domestic/regional conflicts, but also to assure stability of energy supply to the rest of the world and to hamper the violence originating from the region. So, the region's convergence to global standards of governance quality is desirable for increased prosperity and stability both in the region and outside. This volume contributes to the recently burgeoning political economy literature on institutions by putting together well-written chapters that empirically study the relationship between economic performance and institutional characteristics in MENA economies to point out some of the areas where institutional reform is particularly needed and possible tools to use for such reform. Perhaps one common lesson that can be derived from all chapters in the volume is that the both the region itself and the global economy will benefit from a MENA region that is better integrated to the rest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415438049
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/07/2009
Series:	Routledge Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa , #6
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Serdar Sayan is Professor of Economics and Director of Graduate School for Social Sciences at TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Ankara, Turkey. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal International Economics and Foreign Trade Policies. He is a widely published computational economist whose contributions have concentrated on international economics and international trade, development economics and demography.

Table of Contents

1. Institutions and Economic Performance in the MENA Region 2. Corruption in MENA Countries: An Empirical Investigation 3. Does Corruption Hurt Economic Development?: Evidence from Middle Eastern-North African and Latin American Countries 4. Corruption, Corruption Perception and Economic Growth 5. Why Does It Take So Long to Collect on a Bad Check through the Courts? A Case of Institutional Path Dependence with Special Reference to the MENA Region 6. Do Political and Governance Institutions Matter for Private Investment Decisions?: The Case of the Middle East and North Africa 7. Unexplained Differences in the FDI Receipts of MENA 8. Governance and Fiscal Structure in the MENA Region 9. The Effects of Corruption on Credibility of Monetary Policy 10. Conclusions.