ECONOMICS Publication Record Alami, T. 1999. Cointegration analysis of dollarization in
Egypt. Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey ,working
paper 9923. ———. 2000. An econometric investigation of dollarization in
Egypt. Journal of Development and Economic Policies 2:8–23. ———. 2001. Variance decomposition analysis of the demand. Journal
of Economic Studies. Hausmann, R., E. Stein, and U. Panizza. 2001. Original sin,
passthrough, and fear of floating. Financial Vulnerability and the
Exchange Rate Regime. The Emerging Markets Experience. MIT Press. ———. 2001. Why do countries float the way they float?
Journal of Development Economics. Panizza, U. 2001. Convergence in income inequality. Journal
of Income Distribution. ———. 2001. Public-private wage differentials and institutional
quality. Economia. Panizza, U., E. Talvi, and E. Stein. 2001. Assessing dollarization: An application to Central American and Caribbean Countries. Dollarization. MIT Press. Abstracts, Conferences, and Proceedings Makdisi, S., and R. Sadaka. June 2001. Economics, civil war, and
political instability: The case of Lebanon. Launching the World Bank Project
on Case Studies of Civil Wars, Oslo, Norway. Panizza, U. November
2000. Monetary and fiscal policies in emerging market countries. ECES
Conference on Monetary Policy Options for Egypt, Cairo, Egypt. ———. December 2000. Spoiled
bureaucrats and exploited women. Global Development Network 2000, Tokyo,
Japan. ———. April 2001. The
Strange Case of the Public Sector Wage Premium. Third Economia Panel Meeting,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Graduate Theses and Projects Caracalla, H. 1999. Tax reforms in the case of Lebanon. G. Sirhan. El-Khayat, S. 2001. Developing the information technology sector in Lebanon: Action plan. T. Alami. El-Khoury, M. May 2001. Fiscal decentralization in Lebanon: Lessons from other countries. G. Sirhan. El-Mougharbel, R. 1999. Fiscal imbalances and adjustments in Lebanon. G. Sirhan. El-Saghir, S. June 2001. International competitiveness of Lebanon in the light of the world trade organization agreements. G. Sirhan. Kanaan, M., 1999. Intellectual property rights in the case of Lebanon. G. Sirhan. Matta, E. 1999. Foreign direct investment in the MENA region: Case study of Libanpost. G. Sirhan. Yazbeck, M. February 2001. Random walk vs. monetary approach to exchange rate determination: A focus on the euro/dollar exchange rate. T. Alami. Research Projects Capital flight from the Arab world: Estimates and
econometric analysis This study will analyze capital flight from a group of
fourteen Arab countries, where capital flight refers to international capital
movements, which respond to heightened pervasive risk that reflects the
degree of domestic economic and political uncertainty, which is domestically
undiversifiable. The study will discuss several empirical definitions of
capital flight and will present estimates of capital flight for the sample
over the period 1989-2000. Based on these estimates, this study will also
present an econometric model on the determinants of capital flight from the
Arab world. Estimating the volume and analyzing the determinants of capital
flight from the Arab world constitutes a first step toward devising economic
policies that are designed to secure, among other things, a reversal of
capital flight. These policies are expected, not only to improve the external
liability situation of a country, but also to promote economic growth. Alami,
T. Supported by URB Dollarization vs. currency substitution in Egypt:
Further evidence This paper will attempt to distinguish, theoretically and
empirically, between portfolio diversification and transaction motivations
behind holding foreign money in Egypt. Modifying Cuddington's portfolio
balance approach and using a battery of tests to address the time series
property of the data, along with error-correction modeling, the Egyptian
demands for domestic and foreign money are tested. The results indicate
that there is a negative (positive) relationship between the expected rate of
return on foreign money and the demand for domestic (foreign) money. The
results provide further evidence furnished earlier by the author on the
predominance of portfolio (dollarization) over transaction considerations
(currency substitution) behind holding foreign money in Egypt. Submitted to Arab
Economic Journal. Alami, T. Completed or in progress at AUB Reforming intellectual property rights regimes in
developing countries: Economic implications and related public policies The Uruguay Round has produced the most fundamental reform
of the world trading system since the establishment of the GATT in 1947,
testifying to a wider and deeper commitment to trade liberalization. The Uruguay
Round went far beyond achievements from previous rounds in involving
developing countries in the multinational trading systems and covering new
aspects of trade, such as Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). Completed or in progress at AUB Intellectual property rights in Lebanon: Potential
costs and benefits Unlike other assets, intellectual property (IP) is a
public good that requires extraordinary protection against unauthorized use.
Despite significant disagreements over particular standards among the
industrial countries, the IP issue is divided fundamentally along North-South
Lines. Most patented products that make it to Southern markets are developed
in the North. The North would profit from tighter patent procedures in the
South, protecting northern firms against imitators in their export markets.
By the same token, the South would like to pay as little as possible for
these innovations, which is what lax patent protection achieves. In light of
this conflict of interest, our intent is to provide an overview of the legal
system in Lebanon, and the required administration and legal changes
associated with adopting stronger IP laws. In addition, this paper will shed
light on the various potential short-run costs of strengthening IPRs in
Lebanon, as well as the forgone long-run benefits of FDI, technology transfer
and growth if Lebanon chooses not to abide by international standards of
protection. Submitted to Journal of Developing Areas. Alami, T., G.
Sirhan, and M. Kanaan. Economics, civil war, and political instability: The
case of Lebanon The World Bank is one of several organizations which are
currently carrying out research on the economics of the incidence and
duration of civil wars. The literature in this area has been growing. The
World Bank has just launched a case study project, in which the results of
their general research will be evaluated in light of the experience of
individual countries. Professor Makdisi and I recently attended two
conferences in Sweden and Norway related to this subject. The second of these
conferences, hosted by the World Bank, marked the launching of the bank's
case study project. Makdisi, S. (PL), and R. Sadaka. Poverty and social mobility in Lebanon This project uses principal component analysis to build a
proxy for household wealth; the proxy is then used to describe poverty in
Lebanon. Besides documenting poverty across age groups and across the various
regions of the country, the project builds an index of social mobility and describes
social mobility across income groups. Panizza, U. (PL), and M. Khoury. Spoiled bureaucrats and exploited women: Public sector
premium and gender gap in Latin America This project uses a rich collection of household surveys
to investigate the wage differential between the public and private sectors
in 14 Latin American countries. It also studies how the sector of
employment affects the gender wage gap. Contrary to what is commonly thought,
it is found that, in the majority of Latin American countries, there is a
premium associated with working in the public sector. It is also found
that the premium is often higher for women than for men, but that this
difference does not compensate for the wide gender gap. It is concluded that
Latin America is, by and large, still a region of "spoiled bureaucrats
and exploited women." Panizza, U. (PL), and Z. Qiang. Political particularism around the world This project presents a new data set on electoral systems
and outlines its potential uses in further research exploring the connections
between electoral systems and economic outcomes. The data set provides
indicators of the degree to which individual politicians can further their
careers by appealing to narrow geographic constituencies on the one hand, or
party constituencies, on the other. Panizza, U., E. Stein, J. Seddon (PL),
and A. Gaviria. Carrots and sticks: Enforceable effort and the minimum
wage Rent controls lead to a deterioration in the quality of
available rental housing. A minimum wage can have the same kind of effect in
a labor market. The quality of a job
can be represented by the effort level required of the worker. I assume that
firms can observe this level of effort perfectly and, within certain limits,
control it. This may be particularly true of the jobs which would be affected
by a minimum wage. I construct a model based on the assumptions mentioned
above. I study the properties of this
model and use it to investigate the effects of a minimum wage. The classical
notion that workers who keep their jobs under a minimum wage are always
better off is found to be untrue. Further work is needed, including Intellectual property rights in Lebanon: Potential
costs and benefits (With T. Alami and M. Kanaan). Submitted to Journal of Developing Areas. Sirhan, G. Macroeconomic policies in selected Middle Eastern
economies This study involves an evaluation of the recent economic
performance of selected Middle Eastern economies and analyses of the
macroeconomic policies pursued, with special emphasis on stabilization
policies, debt, and financing of development programs. A manuscript is under
preparation. Sirhan, G. Completed or in progress at AUB Privatization in the Middle East: Impediments and
prospects The study focuses on reviewing the privatization
experience of selected Middle Eastern countries, including a critical
assessment of some of the economic programs and the criteria in evaluating
the value of the economic entities which will be transferred to the private
sector. This research is ongoing. Sirhan, G. Completed or in progress at AUB |