Economies Of Middle East Research Articles

Unlocking growth: Investigating asymmetry in the financial inclusion-growth nexus in financially inclusive middle east economies

Financial inclusion is a crucial element of financial development that transmits cheap financial services to provide advantages to entire segments of society and stimulates economic growth. Our investigation evaluates the asymmetric financial inclusion-economic growth nexus in the top 10 financially inclusive Middle East nations (Israel, Oman, Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait). Earlier studies adopted panel data tools, which yielded typical outcomes on the association between financial inclusion and economic growth despite few economies did not indicate such a link individually. Conversely, the present work adopts Quantile-on-Quantile approach which can scrutinize time-series dependency among nations exclusively to give international, though country-specific, comprehension of the variables’ correlation. The outcomes show that financial inclusion boosts economic growth in our selected economies at numerous quantiles of data distribution. In addition, the results depict that the degree of asymmetry in the financial inclusion-economic growth nexus diverges by the nation. The outcomes highlight the critical need for governments and policymakers to prioritize financial inclusion and economic growth across various levels by emphasizing a strategic and comprehensive approach to ensure effective and sustainable growth.

China's Growing Interest in the Middle East: Implications for US Role

This paper aims to examine the shift of power from the US to China in the Middle East without paying attention to some of the most vital economic factors such as energy supply, infrastructural investments and trade. Using qualitative research, the study employs secondary research that involves surveying of peer academic journals, government data, and trade statistics. Also, it involves a comparative analysis of the economic factors and strategic policy comparison. According to the findings of the study, the oil imports and investments of China today are remapping the Middle East economy and poised to dethrone the American dominance in the region. The Chinese model is focused on economic relations and exchange and does not meddle in the domestic affairs of its counterparts, which is why many Middle Eastern countries looking for diversification and reliability are interested in this approach. Such a shift is capable of leading to new alignments of power on the international and regional levels or even the fall of American hegemony. The study also reveals the fact that the US must alter its strategy in order for it to be effective; the plan that the study recommends includes diplomacy and aid and also a cooperative approach, some economic incentives and a collaborative strategy. Some of the findings that have been established across the Middle Eastern countries include the need to be able to manage relations with superpowers and defend national interests as crucial for sustainable development. The implication for international ties, therefore, underscores a shift in the nature of power relations within the global system, hence the need to study further the social-political impact of Chinese financial engagement as well as the changing nature of the uneasy relationship between the US and China.

Renewable Energy Transition, Trade Openness, and CO2 Emissions Nexus in the Middle East

Reducing pollutant emissions during the global energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables is a significant endeavor. Nonetheless, a significant portion of the Middle East (ME) economy continues to be based mostly on the extraction and use of fossil fuels, posing a threat to the environment in the area. Thus, the current study examined the impact of income growth, trade openness (TO), and the Renewable Energy Transition (RET) on CO2 emissions in 12 Middle East nations, from 2000 to 2019. The findings demonstrated that the ME area contains the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). RET decreased emissions of CO2. Therefore, the transition to renewable energy reduced emissions in this ME region. On the other hand, TO enhances CO2 emissions. For the ME region, TO is concerned with the environment. The research recommends a quick RET to safeguard the environment from CO2 emissions.

The Impact of Sustainable Practices on Creating Value for Banks in Emerging Countries

Objective: Analyze the impact of sustainable practices on the value of banks, located in 28 countries in emerging economies of Latin America, Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Europe and Middle East. Theoretical framework: The current lack of consensus on the impact of sustainable practices in the banking industry may be an indication of the existence of friction related to market efficiency, resulting from informational asymmetry, agency conflicts and lack of adequate signaling between different stakeholders. Methodology: Hypothesis H1 - Sustainable practices impact the value of the banks in the study is verified through a regression with pooled data and robustness tests. Results and conclusions: Banks consider that the adoption of sustainable practices does not add value in the short term. Research implications: A possible explanation for this fact is presented by the overinvestment hypothesis. According to it, the application of resources in sustainable activities causes banks to divert resources from their main objective of maximizing shareholder wealth to meet the demands of other stakeholders - which leads to a reduction in their value. Originality/value: Among the differences in this study is the analysis of banks located in emerging countries. The result obtained provides feedback to the financial market in its investment decisions in banks that adopt sustainable practices, especially in developing countries. Another aspect to be highlighted is the maintenance or change of policies adopted - by countries' regulatory entities - in terms of encouraging the adoption of sustainable practices by institutions.

Gold prices, cultural factors, and Covid-19 pandemic: An international analysis

Using data from 24 economies from 2010 to 2022, we demonstrated the significant effect of national culture, a missing factor, on physical, jewellery, and gold bar and coin demand. We also determined that the COVID-19 pandemic variable has a significantly positive influence on demand for gold in Confucian economies, jewellery in South Asian and Middle East economies, and bar and coin in Confucian economies. One key implication is that although the total global gold consumption tends to decline during economic turmoil, individuals in these countries tend to accumulate more gold because gold is considered as a safe haven asset during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our findings also provide useful implications for the development of the gold markets.

Geothermal Power Corridor- connecting the Middle East Countries

The Middle East economy and life depend on imports, be it food, water, or energy, despite each country in the region having enormous energy resources to exploit and reduce dependency on countries outside the region and develop a socioeconomic model of regional cooperation and synergy. An estimated 371 TWh of electricity available from geothermal energy resources can be utilized by these countries to support basic needs and be free from food-energy-water imports by sharing their energy resources. The total amount of CO2 emissions from these countries is currently 945 x 106 kg, so these countries can further earn about 92 million euros from carbon savings, by using geothermal energy along this corridor. This amount can be utilized for augmenting the energy supply from geothermal sources. In this work, the available geothermal resources are evaluated, and suggestions are made how this energy can be best utilized for peaceful existence and cooperation in the region.

China’s Middle East Economic Diplomacy in the New Era

China’s economic diplomacy in the Middle East has entered a new stage in the New Era. With a proposal to build a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind, China is strengthening energy and infrastructure cooperation with the Middle East countries and expanding collaboration in finance, post-conflict reconstruction, and the health industry. Technological innovation and green development have become new impulses for improving cooperation, and a multilevel and multifaceted China-Middle East cooperation pattern has been forged. China adjusts its economic diplomacy in the Middle East in the New Era considering multi-dimensional factors: First, to respond to both sides’ new demands for economic development, seek solutions to the sluggish growth of its traditional economic cooperation pattern with the Middle East, and enhance high-quality cooperation; second, to promote a peaceful and stable regional environment and consolidate Middle East countries’ diplomatic support to China, serving China’s increasing security interest and need for political influence in the Middle East; and third, to improve Middle East countries’ willingness and capacities to deepen their engagements in global economic governance and jointly build an open world economy to respond to mutual demands for international economic institutional reform. China’s economic diplomacy would play an increasingly important role in the Middle East in the post-COVID period.

International North–South Transport Corridor: Boosting Russia’s “pivot to the South” and Trans-Eurasian connectivity

The Russian economy will have to adjust its logistics to face the new reality. The operationali­zation of the multimodal International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is an important strategic part of it. This “pivot to the South” by Russia and other Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries is of particular significance in light of the required reconfiguration of supply chains in Eurasia. Russian exporters, importers and freight forwarding companies’ needs in alternative logistical opportunities have increased dramatically. The INSTC development would promote Eurasian intra- and transcontinental connectivity, reduce export costs, develop new production niches, and realize the Caspian region’s transit potential. This study estimates that the aggregate potential INSTC freight traffic via all the routes and modes of transport, including containerized and non-containerized cargoes, will reach 15–25 million­ tonnes by 2030. The container traffic could rise 20x and this will require investments in hard infrastructure and also soft infrastructure improvement. The corridor will contribute to the evolving outline of the trans-Eurasian transport backbone and bring significant benefits for the economies of Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Middle East, and South Asia.

Critical Success Factors of Public-private Partnership (PPP) Projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

In a world where governments are looking at alternative ways of developing economies, infrastructure development remains a key aspect of these aspirations. For Middle East economies, which have relied on oil proceeds, the growth strategy is not as before as the oil prices have been fluctuating and resulting in low fiscal incomes. Saudi Arabia is one such economy. Thus, in the Kingdom's development strategy outlined in Vision 2030, there has been an emphasis on private players coming into partnering with the government in infrastructure and broader economic development projects. While the concept is easy on paper, running successful Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) projects is a complex endeavor given the conflicting interests of the partners themselves. This research investigated the critical success factors of PPP projects in Saudi Arabia based on the reflections of a quantitative study for infrastructure projects. For descriptive analysis, the entire population of participants (1200 respondents was used), and for the inferential statistics, a sample of 543 respondents was used in a Structured Equation Model tested on Smart PLS was used. The model tested critical success factors mediated by Openness and Communication and a multigroup analysis moderated by job level (representing the level of decision-making classified into strategic formulators - strategic level and above; and strategic implementers- operational managers). The models had an R2 of a stratified sample of 54.5% for the strategic level model and 45.9% for the strategic implementers model. Both models confirmed the importance of Procurement transparency, Risk sharing and allocation, Knowledge management. However, they had differences in the influence of governance, Openness and Communication and efficiency of the financial model. Governance had a significant influence on the success of PPPs only at the operational level while having a fully mediated relationship with Openness and Communication at the operational level. The study then produced two frameworks that are relevant for policymakers and potential private players to understand the relevant factors to be prioritised at each decision-making level to ensure the successful completion of PPPs in Saudi Arabia.

Indigenous knowledge promotion as a strategic pathway to sustainable structural transformation financing in Africa: lessons for the Middle East and North African economies

Indigenous knowledge promotion as a strategic pathway to sustainable structural transformation financing in Africa: lessons for the Middle East and North African economies

The effects of research and development and financial development on CO2 emissions: evidence from selected WAME economies

Earth is in the Anthropocene era and humankind deteriorates the global environment; thus, there is a dire need for sustainable policies at all levels. This study investigates the causal and long-run association between financial development, research and development expenditures, and carbon dioxide emission including energy intensity and income level for selected West Asia and Middle East (WAME) economies along the belt and road. The long-run panel estimation findings reveal that the research and development expenditures (R&D) are negatively associated with environmental degradation, as they significantly mitigate carbon emissions. In contrast, financial development contributes to environmental degradation. The findings validated the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) phenomenon for the WAME economies considering R&D and financial development. Further, energy intensity exacerbates environmental quality. Additionally, the findings from Dumitrescu-Hurlin (DH) causal approach reveal bidirectional causal associations between financial development and carbon emissions and between R&D and emissions. The findings have implications for policy and practice to attain environmental sustainability in the selected WAME countries.

Middle East’s circular economy expectations for the next ten years

This study provides an overview of waste management through circular economy in Middle East. Waste management has become a worldwide problem since humans are wasting resources as well as raw materials. This is the biggest problem faced by the humans on Earth that is getting attention of government representatives from all over the world. Recently, Middle East has also showed concerns regarding the amount of waste produced. Thus, several government representatives of Middle East have voiced their opinions and have taken an initiative to adopt this model. This article is based on the adoption of the model of circular economy in the countries of Middle East. This article explains the challenges that Middle East needs to be aware of for successful implementation of this model.

Do foreign direct investments help to bolster economic growth? New insights from Asian and Middle East economies

PurposeThe prime objective of this study is to offer fruitful implications about allocation and directing foreign direct investment (FDI) to gain maximum economic advantage. The study offers innovative findings by contributing to a new angle.Design/methodology/approachThe study used the annual data of 24 countries, for the period of 1995–2016 and employed quantile regression and GMM as main estimation techniques. For robustness of empirical findings and to check income effect, the study divided the countries as high income, low-income panels.FindingsOverall, the findings reported very interesting and surprising results as regional analysis. The results show the sensitivity of FDI for Middle East and high-income group of countries, inferring that there might several other factors due to which FDI is adversely affecting growth and these countries need to reform institutional quality.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is restricted for 24 countries of Asia and Middle East, based on the data availability.Practical implicationsThe high-income countries should put more efforts to attract funds. The Asian and Middle East countries countries can update trade regulations to encourage entrepreneurs and reduce trade tariffs.Originality/valueThe present study investigated the role of FDI for economic growth in the context of Belt and Road Initiative countries of Middle East and Asian regions. The paper reviewed the past literature and identified regional analysis as a research gap to focus on Belt and Road Initiative in Asia and Middle East region.

The impacts of World Bank education programs in alleviating Middle East economies within Syrian refugee crisis

Purpose This study aims to investigate the World Bank achievements in reinforcing Middle Eastern economies in the light of the Syrian refugees’ crisis. It aims to analyze the influence of the World Bank activities in sustaining and developing a key Lebanese sector under pressure, namely, education. Design/methodology/approach Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted, followed by thematic analysis of gathered data. The study participants included senior Lebanese World Bank professionals and education experts, who once held major leadership roles in the World Bank. Findings Data analysis revealed major contributions in human development, substantial governmental support and controlling damaging consequences of the Syrian crisis, which helped in supporting economic stabilization and prevented education sector from collapsing. Originality/value The desire of evaluating the World Bank activities in the education sector will help in understanding the World Bank’s role in the development process of the education sector and the associated local government support. In addition, the study seeks to assess governmental performance in adapting the required changes to achieve development and revealing strategies used for refugee crisis. Due to a shortage of relevant studies, this study seeks to fill the associated gap with implications and recommendations guiding educational development in the Middle East, in addition to operational recommendations and indications for further studies in the field.

When China sneezes, middle east states get the cold.

The main objective of this study is to extend an economic perspective on the outbreak of COVID‐19 pandemic in the Middle East economies. The COVID‐19 pandemic, which was initially considered as a Chinese‐centric problem, has now affected more than 200 countries worldwide. The impact of the virus on human sufferings is unaccountable. However, economists consider the repercussion of the outbreak as contagious economically as it has been medically. Throughout this paper, we mainly address a few important research questions about the economic aspects of COVID‐19. We further highlight three critical channels through which the economic effect of the outbreak can be assessed. Finally, we explain the case of Middle East states and demonstrate the pathways that explain the economic repercussion of this global pandemic on the region. We conclude the paper by providing a few policy recommendations for the Middle East economies to fight the crisis.

The Moderating Effect of Enterprise Risk Management on the Relationship between Audit Committee Characteristics and Corporate Performance: A Conceptual Case of Jordan

The moderating effect of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) on the relationship between Audit Committee (AC) characteristics and corporate performance under Jordanian context remains a challenge that is yet to be resolved. Jordan plays a significant role on Middle East economy, and recently attracted the attention of the investors. Audit committee characteristics have a significant effect on corporate financial and risk decision-making practices in Jordan. The fundamental AC role is to supervise the corporate’s financial reporting practice, review of financial reports, auditing practice, internal accounting controls, and risk management practices. Hence, the risk management committee (RMC) and AC can potentially moderate the relationship between risk management disclosure and firm performance. Several results of the previous literature were found fraternized, unclear, and inconsistent regarding the ERM effect on firm performance or its effect on AC characteristics in general context, while the literature on Jordan context remain very scarce inaccessible. Therefore, this paper, with regards to existing literature, conceptualized that ‘ERM’ moderates the relationship between AC size, number of AC meeting, AC independence, accounting expertise in the AC, Muslim directors in the AC, and corporate performance.

China’s Middle East investment policy

ABSTRACTChina’s greater Middle East geoeconomic strategy is centered on an external trade and industry policy. This trade and industry policy combines geopolicy and geoeconomic policy to export industrial capacity bases in what amounts to a geoindustrial policy and a parallel trade strategy. Practical coordination is under the umbrella of the central International Capacity Cooperation macro-policy. China’s provincial governments are then tasked with offshoring China’s industrial capacity to Middle East economies through specialized International Capacity Cooperation funds, which are then coordinated by sectoral industry associations: International Capacity Cooperation Industry Enterprise Alliances. The final industrial policy is then deployed by matching China’s provinces and prefectures to external geographies. This amounts to a State Outward Direct Investment Strategy. This paper uses primary sourced Chinese policy documents from central and provincial state administrative agencies to build a historical institutional record. We then employ a Polanyian analysis of the embeddedness of State functions in China’s external investment activities and industrial transfers, analyzing China’s external trade and industry policy in the Middle East in terms of state–market institutional interrelationality.

The retrospect and prospect of the applications of biotechnology in Phoenix dactylifera L.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is one of the most important fruit trees that contribute a major part to the economy of Middle East and North African countries. It is quintessentially called "tree of life" owing to its resilience to adverse climatic conditions, along with manifold nutritional-cum-medicinal attributes that comes from its fruits and other plant parts. Being a tree with such immense utility, it has gained substantial attention of tree breeders for its genetic advancement via in vitro biotechnological interventions. Herein, an extensive review of biotechnological research advances in date palm has been consolidated as one of the major research achievements during the past two decades. This article compares the different biotechnological techniques used in this species such as: tissue and organ culture, bioreactor-mediated large-scale propagation, cell suspension culture, embryogenic culture, protoplast culture, conservation (for short- and long-term) of germplasms, in vitro mutagenesis, in vitro selection against biotic and abiotic stresses, secondary metabolite production in vitro, and genetic transformation. This review provides an insight on crop improvement and breeding programs for improved yield and quality fruits; besides, it would undeniably facilitate the tissue culture-based research on date palm for accelerated propagation and enhanced production of quality planting materials, along with conservation and exchange of germplasms, and genetic engineering. In addition, the unexplored research methodologies and major bottlenecks identified in this review should be contemplated on in near future.

Evaluating the Impact of Trade Openness on Women’s Job Opportunities : An Analysis for Middle East Countries = تقييم أثر الانفتاح التجاري على فرص عمل المرأة : تحليل لدول الشرق الأوسط

Trade Openness | Women’s Absolute Employment Rate | Female Labor Force | Gender Gap | Middle East Economies | الانفتاح التجاري | معدل العمالة المطلقة للمرأة | قوة العمل النسائية | الفجوة بين الجنسين | اقتصادات الشرق الأوسط

A note on the interaction between stock prices and exchange rates in Middle-East economies

Ample studies have been conducted to analyse the interaction between stock prices and exchange rates in developed and developing countries. However, studies on Middle-East economies are limited. Moreover, many existing studies test for Granger causality in a bi-variate setting which in turn leads to conflicting causality results. The goal of this study is to investigate the causal interaction between stock prices and exchange rates empirically in Iran, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia from January 2004 to December 2011. Among four Middle-East economies, we find that stock prices and exchange rates have bi-directional causality in Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia, but the variables do not interact in Kuwait. Additionally, the recursive causality tests reveal that these relationships are stable over the analysis period. Therefore, stock prices and exchange rates affect each other at least in Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia.