This paper projects the future of knowledge economy (KE) in SSA and MENA countries using the four components of the World Bank’s Knowledge Economy Index (KEI): economic incentive, education, ICTs and innovation. The empirical evidence provides the speeds of integration as well as the time necessary to achieve full integration. Findings broadly indicate SSA and MENA countries with low levels in ...

Article history: Accepted 26 September 2010 JEL classification: O31 O33 O41

Article history: Accepted 30 October 2013 JEL classification: E62 O11 O41

Article history: Received 6 August 2010 Received in revised form 15 November 2010 Accepted 23 November 2010 Available online 2 December 2010 JEL classification: C61 E21 O41

This paper examines the tax structures of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries by focusing on the quality of governance and demographic changes as two influential factors in region’s economies. The objective of is to determine whether these factors can explain the variation in the tax structures of these countries. Results from regressions on the MENA countries and the ones based o...

during recent years, a debate has been taking place on the relationship between economic growth and trade policies. the present article explores the impact of trade liberalization on economic growth in islamic countries. we chose a sample of 26 islamic countries and using the gmm method, estimated the correlation between trade liberalization and economic growth for the period 1990-2003. the emp...

The issue of poverty traps is assessed using quantile regression. For that an augmentation of the usual convergence regressions by quadratic and cubic terms is used with emphasis on curve fitting rather than parameter estimation. The results show that the generic mechanism leading to poverty traps predominantly applies to countries with relatively low levels of income per capita or per worker t...

This paper investigates the relationship between growth and inequality from a demographic point of view. In an extended model of the accidental bequest with endogenous fertility, we analyze the effects of a decrease in the old-age mortality rate on the equilibrium growth rate as well as on the income distribution. We show that the relationship between growth and inequality is at first positive ...

The paper analyzes how social barriers to communication affect economy-wide productivity and factor accumulation. Using a dynamic model of an economy that includes a reproducible capital stock (physical or human) and effective labor, a negative relationship is shown to exist between social barriers to communication and total factor productivity (TFP), per capita consumption and reproducible cap...

â â â  â â â â â â â â â â â  financial sector is one of the most influential sectors in economic activities. empirical and theoretical studies conducted in recent years have also confirmed the significant role of financial institutions in economic growth. additionally, trade and financial liberalization policies have been particular concerned with strategic policies in developed and developing...