ERF 26th Annual Conference: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a Framework for MENA’s Development Policy
FromJun 23, 2020 To Sep 30, 2020
Online Webinars
The Economic Research Forum’s (ERF) Annual Conference has become the premier regional event for economists of the Middle East, where new ideas are born, nourished and promoted, where the community of researchers meet, and where excellence is celebrated. This year’s conference proceedings happen in very special and difficult time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ERF 26th Annual Conference is held virtually over the period of almost 7 weeks, and around 24 sessions are held to discuss a total of 80 papers.
Agenda
Session 1: On Trade and Exchange Rates
Date
23/06/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Senior Associates
Bernard Hoekman
Professor and Director, Global Economics, Robert Schuman...
Authors
Anirudh Shingal
Senior Fellow, Indian Council for Research on...
Authors
Marwa Elsherif
Associate Professor of Economics, Arab Academy for...
Authors
Makrem Ben Doudou
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of...
Papers
Trade and Exchange Rate Effects: Evidence from Firm-Level Data
We estimate an augmented gravity model using a firm-level database on Turkish firms to revisit... Read More
The Dynamic Interaction of Exchange Rates and International Trade Flows in the MENA Region: GARCH Analysis
This study examined the dynamics between real exchange rate volatility and the level of international... Read More
The Determinants of Tunisia’s Trade Deficit in Recent Years: A Gravity Model Approach
A plethora of empirical research studies have unveiled the determinants of bilateral flows, mainly free... Read More
Presentations
Videos
Session 2: On The Politics of Integration
Date
24/06/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Ahmed Ghoneim
Professor, Economics Department, Faculty of Economics and...
Authors
Cem Özgüzel
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Research Associates
Eman Moustafa
Research Manager, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
Authors
Khalid Siddig
Senior Researcher, International Agricultural Trade and Development...
Papers
Shooting Down Trade: The Impact of Russian Sanctions on Turkish Exports and Exporters
On 24 November 2015, Turkish military shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian-Turkey... Read More
Foreign Direct Investment and Corruption in Egypt: A Co-integration Analysis
This paper examines the impact of corruption on FDI in Egypt during the period 1970-2015... Read More
Long-term Economy-wide Impacts of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Sudan
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) – a multi-year hydropower storage dam under construction on... Read More
Session 3: On Natural Resources, Environment & Climate Change
Date
01/07/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 6:00 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Abeer Elshennawy
Professor of Economics, American University in Cairo
Authors
Amira Elayouty
Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics, Faculty of...
Authors
Jonas Luckmann
Lecturer and Researcher, International Agricultural Trade and...
Authors
Insaf Guedidi
World Trade Organization (WTO) Chair Junior Fellow,...
Research Associates
Dina Kassab
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economics and Political...
Papers
Exploring the Relationship between Electricity Consumption and Drivers of Climate Change: A Functional Data Analysis Approach
This paper aims at (1) assessing the variations in the trends of CO2 emissions and... Read More
Redistributing Water Rights between the West Bank and Israel – More Than a Zero-sum Game?
This paper analyses the effects of increasing Palestinian access to shared groundwater aquifers with Israel.... Read More
CO2 Emissions, Environmental Provisions and Global Value Chains: The Middle East and North Africa in a Global Context
The paper investigates the relationship between carbon emissions, environmental provisions in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)... Read More
Agree to Disagree? Making sense of Vagueness in International Environmental Agreements
This paper explains vagueness in IEAs by the heterogeneity in institutional capacities of the negotiating... Read More
Presentations
Videos
Session 4: On Oil Resources, Diversification and Democracy Deficit
Date
07/07/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Authors
Mohammad Pournik
Ex-Poverty Practice Leader at the UNDP regional...
Research Associates
Siham Matallah
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of...
Authors
Amir Lebdioui
Development Economist, London School of Economics (LSE)
Research Fellows
Moamen Gouda
Associate Professor of Middle-East Economics, Hankuk University...
Papers
Economic Diversification and Governance Challenges in MENA Oil Exporters: A Comparative Study
The present paper aims, on the one hand, to test the impact of oil rents... Read More
Economic Diversification in the Middle East and North Africa: A Developmental Approach to Managing Non-renewable Resource Revenues
This paper investigates the political economy of managing resource revenues and economic diversification in Middle... Read More
Oil Curse, Islamic Constitutions, and Democracy
There is an ongoing debate on the relationship between Islam, oil wealth and (lack of)... Read More
Presentations
Videos
Session 5: On Political Economy, Conflicts and Refugees
Date
08/07/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 6:00 pm
Speakers
Authors
Alexandra Irani
Project Research Manager, Applied Economics and Development...
Research Fellows
Abdullah Talha Yalta
Professor of Economics, TOBB University of Economics...
Research Associates
Cyrine Hannafi
Post-Doctoral Researcher, University Paris-Est Créteil
Authors
Osman Zeki Gokce
Assistant Professor of Political Science and International...
Papers
Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance in Lebanon: Impact Evaluation on the Well-being of Syrian Refugees
The study aims to measure the impact on Syrian refugees in Lebanon of multi-purpose cash... Read More
The Determinants of Defense Spending in the Gulf Region: Evidence from Seemingly Unrelated Regressions
We examine the determinants of demand for military expenditures in the Gulf Region (Saudi Arabia,... Read More
Syrian Migrants, Domestic and International Politics: Parsing out Sentiments on Turkish Twitter
Migration, in general, and, refugee flows in particular has constituted a central topic of scholarly... Read More
Economic and Social Integration of Syrian Refugees and Their Intention to Stay in Germany
The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of both social and economic... Read More
Presentations
Videos
Session 6: On Sustainable Development Goals
Date
14/07/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:00 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Racha Ramadan
Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Political...
Research Fellows
Zouhair Mrabet
Associate Professor, College of Business and Economics,...
Authors
Lynn Woolfrey
Manager, DataFirst, University of Cape Town
Papers
The Impact of Socio-economic Development and Political Instability on the Ecological Footprint in the MENA Region: Evidence from Panel VAR Estimations
Using a sample of 16 countries from the MENA region for the period 1990 to... Read More
Session 7: Health, Nutrition & Social Welfare
Date
15/07/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 6:00 pm
Speakers
Authors
Belgi Turan
Associate Professor, TOBB University of Economics and...
Authors
Maye Ehab
Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences
Authors
Oznur Ozdamar
Associate Professor of Economics and Head, Department...
Research Associates
Amira El-Shal
Acting Associate Director of Research, J-PAL MENA
Authors
Hind Hourmat Allah
Professor, Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech
Papers
Employment Transitions of Youth and Mental Health Implications in Egypt
Youth in Egypt suffer from high rates of non-employment and the widespread use of informal... Read More
The Effect of Unemployment Benefits on Health, Living Standards and Unemployment in Turkey: Evidence from Structural Equation Modelling and Regression Discontinuity Design
Unemployment can negatively affect individuals, their families and communities in various ways. When individuals are... Read More
Accreditation as a Quality-Improving Policy Tool: Family Planning, Maternal Health, and Child Health in Egypt
Accreditation of healthcare providers has been established in many high income countries and some low-... Read More
Presentations
Session 8: On Islamic Banking
Date
21/07/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Wafik Grais
Freelance Senior Economic Advisor
Research Associates
Suzanna Elmassah
Professor of Economics and Sustainability, Zayed University,...
Authors
Mustapha Chaffai
Assistant Professor at the Department of Management...
Research Fellows
Mohamed El Arbi Chaffai
Professor of Econometrics, University of Sfax
Papers
How Do Women Choose their Bank Type in a Multicultural Context?
Islamic banking is an integral part of the global financial system and has the potential... Read More
Islamic Finance and Anchoring Heuristic Bias: An Analysis to Gulf Islamic Stock Markets
The aim of this work is to study the anchoring heuristic. The Extraneous factors plays’... Read More
Are Islamic Banks More Efficient Than Conventional Banks? The Meta-regression Verdict
This paper aims to conduct a comparison of the efficiency of Islamic banks versus conventional... Read More
Session 9: On Job Attributes, Social Security and Welfare Programs
Date
22/07/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Meltem Dayioglu Tayfur
Professor, Department of Economics, Middle East Technical...
Authors
Brian Feld
Assistant Professor, School of Economics and Finance,...
Authors
Zied Chaker
Economist/Statistician, CNAV (French National Pension Fund)
Papers
Comparing Methods to Estimate Valuations of Job Attributes
We estimate the value of different non-wage job amenities among a group of job seekers... Read More
Informal Labor and the Expansion of Social Security Programs: Evidence from Jordan and Tunisia
Social insurance could reduce incentives to search for jobs when there are generous unemployment benefits... Read More
Session 10: On Gender
Date
28/07/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Authors
Murat Tasdemir
Faculty Member, Department of Economics, Istanbul Medeniyet...
Authors
Suzanna Khalifa
PhD Candidate in Economics, Aix-Marseille School of...
Authors
Serife Genç Ileri
Assistant Professor of Economics, Istanbul Technical University
Research Associates
Amira El-Shal
Acting Associate Director of Research, J-PAL MENA
Papers
The Price of Silence: Marriage Transfers and Women’s Attitude Toward Intimate Partner Violence
This paper provides evidence about the relationship between marriage transfers and women’s opinion on intimate... Read More
Gender Wage Gap and International Trade: Evidence From Turkey
Gender wage gap is a widely discussed issue in labor economics. This paper contributes to... Read More
Explaining Firm-level Gender Productivity Differential in Africa
Total factor productivity is a fundamental measure of economic efficiency and, generally, a key determinant... Read More
Presentations
Videos
Session 11: On Growth, Productivity and Structural Change
Date
29/07/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 6:00 pm
Speakers
Senior Associates
Jeffrey Nugent
Professor of Economics, University of Southern California
Authors
Fatma M. Utku-İsmihan
EU Expert, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,...
Authors
Najah Souissi-Kachouri
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economic Sciences and...
Authors
Marouane Alaya
Sfax University
Research Associates
Nesma Ali
Post-Doctoral Researcher at Düsseldorf Institute for Competition...
Papers
Determinants of Growth Performance of High Growth Firms: An Analysis of the Turkish Manufacturing Sector
Due to their important contribution to overall growth performance of economies policy makers have attributed... Read More
Corruption in the Banking Sector and Economic Growth in MENA Countries
Our purpose in this article is to study the impact of corruption on the banking... Read More
Household Enterprises: The Impact of Informality on Productivity and Profitability
This paper assesses the impact of commercial registration on the labor productivity and profitability of... Read More
Session 12: On Crises, Inequality and Political Participation
Date
11/08/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Authors
Adeel Malik
Globe Fellow in the Economies of Muslim...
Research Fellows
Mounir Mahmalat
Economist and FCV Country Coordinator for Central...
Authors
Vladimir Hlasny
Economic Affairs Officer, UN Economic and Social...
Authors
Walid Merouani
Researcher, Center for Research in Applied Economic...
Papers
Crises, Uncertainty, and Reform – Disentangling the Mechanisms of a Conventional Wisdom in Fractionalized Polities
This working paper outlines a theory and presents preliminary results to analyze the micro mechanisms... Read More
The Implications of Inequality for Corruption: Does the MENA Region Stand Out?
This study is motivated by an assertion that the more unequal a society is, the... Read More
Political Attitudes and Participation Among Young Arab Workers: A Comparison of Formal and Informal Workers in Five Arab Countries
Political participation by citizens is important to ensure good governance and the accountability of policy... Read More
Presentations
Videos
Session 13: On Education
Date
12/08/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 6:00 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Rana Hendy
Assistant Professor of Economics and Director of...
Research Fellows
Moundir Lassassi
Research Director, Research Centre in Applied Economics...
Research Fellows
Ahmed Elsayed
Senior Research Associate, IZA- Institute of Labor...
Research Associates
Olfa Frini
Associate Professor, Higher Institute of Accounting and...
Research Associates
Reham Rizk
Associate Professor, Universities of Canada (UCE), Egypt
Papers
Public Preschool and Maternal Labor Supply in Algeria: Evidence from a Natural Experiment
Globally, female labor force participation rates have remained low and stagnant for some time. What... Read More
The Women Empowering Effect of Higher Education
This paper analyses the effects of expansion of higher education on labor market outcomes, paying... Read More
A GMM Approach for an Explanation of the Fertility Change Upward in Tunisia
In Tunisia as in some Arab countries like in Algeria and Egypt, fertility has known,... Read More
Do Parents Compensate or Reinforce Child Ability Gaps? Evidence from Egypt using Private Tutoring
There are natural differences in children’s initial endowments and cognitive abilities. How parents respond to... Read More
Presentations
Videos
Session 14: On Productivity, Market Structure and Gender
Date
18/08/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Raed Safadi
Chief Economic Adviser, Dubai's Department of Economic...
Research Fellows
Nergiz Dincer
Professor, Department of Economics and Vice Director,...
Research Associates
Yasmine Kamal
Assistant Professor, Economics Department, Faculty of Economics...
Research Fellows
Fida Karam
Associate Professor, Gulf University for Science and...
Papers
Capital Inputs Sourcing from China and Export Quality Upgrading
In this paper, we revisit the question of how firm-level sourcing decisions affect export performance... Read More
Disentangling the Impact of Trade Barriers on Wages: Evidence from the MENA Region
This paper proposes a comprehensive assessment of the effect of different trade barriers (tariffs, non-tariff... Read More
On Women Participation and Empowerment in International Trade: Impact on Trade Margins in the MENA Region
This paper investigates the contribution of female labor participation as well female ownership/management to trade... Read More
Session 15: On Trade and Global Value Chains
Date
19/08/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Authors
Jaime de Melo
Professor Emeritus, University of Geneva
Research Fellows
Mohamedou Nasser Dine
Head and Project Manager, UNDP Mauritania
Research Associates
Pinar Tat
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Gebze Technical...
Research Fellows
Riadh Ben Jelili
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of...
Papers
Spillovers in Labor Productivity and Global Value Chain Impacts: Evidence from Turkey
Based on the world input-output database 2016 (WIOD), this study examines the impact of the... Read More
The Effects of Openness and Global Value Chains on the Performance of Turkish Sectors
Regarding the dynamics of contemporary world economy, success in a domestic economy cannot be achieved... Read More
The Relevance of Risk Mitigation on Export Promotion in the Arab Economies
The scarcity of affordable and opportune trade financing schemes, including export credit guarantee programs, has... Read More
Session 16: On Social Cohesion, Technology and Sustainable Development
Date
25/08/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Senior Associates
Shahrokh Fardoust
Research Professor, Global Research Institute, College of...
Authors
Mohamed Bouhari
Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics and...
Authors
Iyad Dhaoui
Researcher, Department of Social Studies, Tunisian Institute...
Authors
Markus Loewe
Research Team Leader, German Development Institute
Papers
Les Technologies de L’Information et de Communication et le Développement Durable: Enjeux et Pratiques Dans les Pays en Développement
Cet article cherche à identifier la place qu’occupent les technologies de l’information et de communication... Read More
E-Governance for Sustainable Development in MENA Countries
This research paper investigates the role of electronic governance on various aspects of economic and... Read More
Community Effects of Cash-for-Work Programmes in Jordan: Effects on Host Communities’ Local Economic Development, Gender Roles, and Social Cohesion
The report at hand addresses the indirect effects of Cash-for-Work (CfW) programmes in contexts of... Read More
Presentations
Videos
Session 17: On Migration & Remittances
Date
26/08/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:00 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Massoud Karshenas
Emeritus Professor of Economics, Department of Economics,...
Research Fellows
Rabeh Morrar
Director of Research, Palestine Institute for Economic...
Authors
Basil Awad
Economics Analyst, Middle East Center for Economics...
Papers
Do Non-natives Catch-up with the Natives in Terms of Earnings in Jordan? New Evidence from Distributional Analysis of Individual Data from JLMPS 2010-2016
In the current study, we endeavor to bring a new evidence to the existing literature... Read More
GCC Migration: A Longitudinal Migrant Network Approach
International migration is attracting growing interest in academia and policymakers in both hosting and sending... Read More
Presentations
Videos
Session 18: On Inequality, Poverty & Cash Transfers
Date
01/09/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Paul Makdissi
Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa
Authors
Öner Günçavdı
Professor of Economic Development, Faculty of Management,...
Authors
Marwan Khawaja
Chief of the Demographic and Social Statistics...
Research Associates
Mohammad H. Mostafavi-Dehzooei
Assistant Professor, Georgia Southwestern State University
Papers
De-industrialisation and Poverty in Turkey
De-industrialisation has emerged as a crucial problem in today’s developing economies, and globalisation and rapid... Read More
Cash Transfers and Consumption of the Poor: Evidence from a Large-scale Program in Iran
How the poor spend their cash transfers and whether such transfers enable them to improve... Read More
Session 19: On Energy Economics
Date
02/09/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Mohammad Reza Farzanegan
Professor in Economics of the Middle East,...
Research Fellows
Fateh Belaïd
Full Professor of Economics, Lille Catholic University
Research Fellows
Fatih Karanfil
Research Fellow, KAPSARC
Authors
Dina Ragab
Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Economics and Political...
Papers
Energy Expenditure in Egypt: Empirical Evidence Based on a Quantile Regression Approach
Reduction in energy consumption at the individual scale leads to a significant reduction in energy... Read More
The Opportunity Cost of Domestic Oil Consumption for an Oil Exporter: Illustration for Saudi Arabia
This paper develops a partial-equilibrium framework to assess the opportunity cost of domestic oil consumption... Read More
Power Sector Reforms and Technological Change: Evidence from Arab League Members
Power sector reforms have been widely adopted in the turn of the 21st Century, including... Read More
Presentations
Session 20: On Employment and Earnings
Date
15/09/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:30 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Jackline Wahba
Professor of Economics, University of Southampton, UK...
Authors
Hüseyin Ikizler
Assistant Professor, OSTIM Technical University
Research Associates
Müşerref Küçükbayrak
Economist, Structural Economic Research Department, Central Bank...
Authors
Murat Tasdemir
Faculty Member, Department of Economics, Istanbul Medeniyet...
Papers
Do Wage Subsidies Alleviate Employment Discrimination Against Women? The Case of Turkey
This paper investigates the employment effects of the employment subsidy programs implemented in Turkey since... Read More
The Impact of Age-specific Minimum Wages on Youth Employment and Education: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis
We exploit the age-specific minimum wage rule|which sets a lower minimum wage for workers of... Read More
Effect of English-Medium Instruction on Earnings
The adoption of English-medium instruction in high schools and universities has been controversial in non-English... Read More
Session 21: On Oil Markets
Date
16/09/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:00 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Mine Cinar
Director, Center for International Business, Professor, Quinlan...
Authors
Walid Chkili
Associate Professor of Finance, Faculty of Economics...
Research Associates
Naima Bentouir
Assistant Professor, Ain Témouchent University, Algeria
Papers
The Links between Gold, Oil Prices and Islamic Stock Markets in a Regime Switching Environment
This paper investigates the interaction between gold, oil prices and Islamic stock market for the... Read More
Proposing the Method to Predict the Break-Even Oil Price for Hedging and Sustainable Finance in Oil Exporting Countries – An Empirical Study in Algeria by using the Black-Scholes Model
Oil-exporting countries suffer from the volatility of oil prices, especially in the recent period, which... Read More
Session 22: On General Macroeconomics
Date
22/09/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 6:00 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Chahir Zaki
Chaired Professor of Economics, University of Orléans
Authors
Mohamed Tahar Benkhodja
Assistant Professor of Economics, ESSCA School of...
Research Fellows
Semih Tumen
Professor of Economics, TED University, Turkey
Research Fellows
Shireen AlAzzawi
Lecturer, Economics Department, Leavey School of Business,...
Authors
Thibault Lemaire
PhD Candidate in Economics, Université Paris 1...
Papers
Monetary Policy, Oil Stabilization Fund and the Dutch Disease
This paper contributes to the literature on the Dutch disease effect in a small open... Read More
Product-level Estimates of Exchange Rate Pass-through: Evidence from Turkey
We estimate the export and import exchange rate pass-through using product-level data from Turkey. We... Read More
Disparities in Cost of Living Changes after a Large-Scale Devaluation: The Case of Egypt 2016
In November 2016 the Egyptian Pound went through a massive devaluation. A jump in prices... Read More
Phillips in a Revolution: Unemployment and Prices in Early 21st Century Egypt
The relative price Phillips curve hypothesis gives a better account of the dynamics of the... Read More
Presentations
Session 23: On Private Sector Development & SME Performance
Date
23/09/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:00 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Najat El Mekkaoui
Professor of Economics, University Paris-Dauphine
Research Fellows
Bedri Kamil Onur Tas
Associate Professor of Economics, College of Economics...
Research Fellows
Hadi Salehi Esfahani
Director of CSAMES and Professor of Economics...
Papers
Regulatory Quality and Participation by Small Firms in Public Procurement
This paper investigates the effects of good practices in public procurement on small and medium... Read More
Size-Dependent Industrial Policies and Firm Performance: The Case of Iran’s Credit Extension Policy for Small Firms, 2005-2013
This paper examines the direct effects of a size-dependent credit extension policy on small manufacturing... Read More
Session 24: On Finance
Date
29/09/2020
Location
Online Webinar
Time
From 4:00 pm To 5:00 pm
Speakers
Research Fellows
Samir Ghazouani
Full Professor of Econometrics, Business School of...
Authors
Shereen Attia
Senior Researcher and Consultant
Papers
Developing Countries’ Access to International Capital Markets: What Constraint MENA?
The paper investigates at first factors that affect developing countries access to international capital markets.... Read More