Suchergebnisse

This paper investigates the impact of openness to trade and higher levels of human capital on the economies of some MENA countries. To answer the question: whether either human capital or openness can be shown to cause productivity, we use panel data on 16 countries spanning the 1965 -2000 period. Controlling for fixed effects as well as endogeneity, the results show a significant impact of openness on productivity growth. We find also an effect, significant at the ten per cent level, of the level of human capital on the level of income but no effect on underlying productivity growth. Our preferred estimator combines high and low frequency differences of the data. We discuss reasons why this estimator is well suited for empirical analysis of economic growth.

This paper investigates short and long-run effects of trade liberalization on employment and wages. Employment and wage equations are estimated using data (1971-96) for importable and exportable industrial sectors in Tunisia. Causality tests show that causality is unidirectional. Wages strongly causes employment. There is significant difference in the direction of effects in the short and long-run. Empirical results only support the short-run theoretical predictions for the exportable sectors. A possible reason for the divergence of theory and practice is that the theoretical model is premised on the basis of a fixed supply of labour. Employment at exportable sectors could therefore only rise if employment at importable fell. However, the supply of labour increased dramatically in Tunisia as women entered the labour market. This allowed employment at importable sectors to be maintained as the exportable sector expanded. (InWent/DÜI)

The goal of this paper is to investigate the effects of the global financial crisis on employment conditions in Tunisia, specifically regarding hiring and separation rates. A panel data model which utilized firm level data covering five sectors over the period of 2007– June 2010 is used to explain quarterly relationships between hiring and separation rates in Tunisia. A random effect model was also used to help understand the most significant variables that affect the variation of hiring and separation rates. The results indicate a decline in separation rates, highlighting the vulnerability of Tunisia's labor market to a global slowdown. Weak labor demand is a response to the company's inability to create more jobs, which causes many Tunisian youth to put off work for school. The research results in this paper should urge policymakers to create a comprehensive plan to bridge the unemployment gap while promoting increased job opportunities.