The Maghreb – one more important biodiversity hot spot for tiger beetle fauna (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cicindelinae) in the Mediterranean region

The tiger beetle fauna of the Maghreb region is one of the richest in the Palaearctic, including 22 species and 5 subspecies and 19% of all Palaearctic species of Cicindelinae. Assembled by their chorotypes, the Maghreb tiger beetles fall into eight different groups that include Maghreb endemics (26% of fauna), Mediterranean (7%), West Mediterranean (40%), North African (4%), Mediterranean-Westturanian (4%), West Palaearctic (4%), Afrotropico-Indo-Mediterranean (4%), and Saharian (11%) species. The Mediterranean Sclerophyl and Atlas Steppe are the Maghreb biogeographical provinces with the highest species richness, while the Sahara Desert has the lowest Cicindelinae diversity. Twenty-five cicindelid species and subspecies (93% of Maghreb fauna) are restricted to only one or two habitat types in lowland areas. Only Calomera littoralis littoralis and Lophyra flexuosa flexuosa are recognized as eurytopic species and occur in three types of habitat. The highest tiger beetle diversity characterizes salt marshes and river banks (in both cases 11 species and subspecies or 41% of Maghreb fauna). Approximately 85% of all Maghreb tiger beetle species and subspecies are found in habitats potentially endangered by human activity

The Cost of non-Maghreb: Achieving the Gains from Economic Integration

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of the integration of Maghreb countries into a free trade area on the main macroeconomic aggregates. By using the MIRAGE model and MacMap database, we tested different scenarios to estimate the gains or the potential losses of various plans of trade integration (Free trade area for the Maghreb countries, Custom Union between Maghreb countries, Maghreban Common Market). Our study suggests that the overall gains from liberalizing trade in goods (and removing various regulatory non-tariff barriers in the process) could reach at least USD 350 million. The increase in revenue through increases in production and wages would positively affect welfare levels for Maghreb consumers. The dynamic gains from liberalizing trade in goods can outstrip the static gains, with productivity improvements as the main driver. Our analysis shows that the creation of a common market is probably the most interesting and efficient option for the Maghreb countries.Free Trade Area, Maghreb, and CGE Model

Economic Development in the Maghreb States in the Context of their Relations with the EU

This paper examines a number of key factors that have an impact on economic development in the Maghreb. While growth indicators have been favorable in recent years, a consideration of the inequitable distribution of wealth and the precarious employment situation paint a different picture. Furthermore, the Maghreb economies have remained over-regulated and plagued by a host of structural constraints, prominent among which is the excessive role of the state. The record of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership has also been mixed. Critics have stated that it is compromised by turf battles within the EU, which render it incapable of providing the right solutions for the Maghreb states’ problems. The paper argues that a failure to tackle agriculture as an issue of prime importance for poverty reduction may exacerbate present inequalities and social imbalances in the Maghreb.EU; ENP; Euromed; trade; Maghreb; North Africa; Mediterranean; development

Institutional Quality, Reforms and Integration in the Maghreb

institutions, Maghreb, economic reform

The renewable energy targets of the Maghreb countries: Impact on electricity supply and conventional power markets

Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the three countries of the North African Maghreb region, are showing increased efforts to integrate renewable electricity into their power markets. Like many other countries, they have pronounced renewable energy targets, defining future shares of “green” electricity in their national generation mixes. The individual national targets are relatively varied, reflecting the different availability of renewable resources in each country, but also the different political ambitions for renewable electricity in the Maghreb states. Open questions remain regarding the targets’ economic impact on the power markets. Our article addresses this issue by applying a linear electricity market optimization model to the North African countries. Assuming a competitive, regional electricity market in the Maghreb, the model minimizes dispatch and investment costs and simulates the impact of the renewable energy targets on the conventional generation system until 2025. Special emphasis is put on investment decisions and overall system costs.North Africa; Renewable energy sources; Electricity markets

Returnees in the Maghreb. A European perspective. Egmont Security Policy Brief No. 120 December 2019

More than 10,000 individuals travelled from Europe and North Africa to fight in Syria and Iraq. Now, Europe and North Africa are dealing with the challenge of returning foreign fighters, mostly separately. This policy brief looks at the inter-regional dimension of the returnees’ challenge, at why Europe should care more about North Africa’s ability (or not) to craft effective policies, and how it could help – with a focus on the European Union (EU). It concludes with concrete recommendations for the EU and North African countries

Climate Change, Migration, and Conflict in Northwest Africa

Examines how climate change affects the number of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa traveling through Nigeria, Niger, Algeria, and Morocco; increased security risks in the region; how these factors exacerbate one another; and intercontinental implications

Co-movements Of Business Cycles In The Maghreb: Does Trade Matter?

Over the past two decades, the Maghreb Countries have initiated a liberalization process characterized by increasing trade flows and they have strengthened economic and financial linkages between their economies. In this paper, we demonstrate how co-movements of outputs would respond to this integration process. The nature of this relationship seems to be important for these countries because the decision to join an economic and monetary union would depend on how the union affects trade and co-movements. To this end, we estimate a panel model describing the effect of trade intensity on business cycles correlation over the period 1980-2005. Thereafter, to check the robustness of the results, we add many control variables commonly described in the literature. We use three estimation techniques: pooled OLS, fixed vs. random effects as well as 2SLS estimations. Our main results suggest that while trade intensity may help to harmonize business cycles in Maghreb countries, the magnitude of this harmonization is lower than for industrial countries. Moreover, intra-industry trade causes a reverse –counterintuitive- effect. Many lessons are thereby learned