Political Economy of Transformation in the ERF Region

FromOct 27, 2013 To Oct 28, 2013

Tunis, Tunisia

A workshop on The Political Economy of Transformation in the ERF Region was held to discuss the outcome of the 13th Round of the Regional Research Competition supported by the Global Development Network (GDN). Within  the framework of this competition and after a peer-review process, ERF selected six out of 16 research proposals. The  selected papers tackle a multitude of issues that should provide a better understanding of how a few powerful  groups, be they the local rulers and their crony capitalists, or foreign colonialists driven by their geopolitical interests  in the region, have interacted to shape political and economic outcomes. The papers also explore the impact of domestic politics on fiscal decentralization and fiscal accountability and the impact of authoritarianism on governance outcomes. Moreover, the economic policies of transitional governments, which have mainly been of islamist inclinations, is also assessed in the papers. The workshop was followed by a policy seminar on “The performance of the Tunisian Economy in light of the Ongoing Political Transformations”. The Seminar also looked into the reforms needed to enhance growth, improved public services, and inclusion.