Final report on IDRC GEM-MENA Research Training Workshop, Amman, Jordan, October 8-9, 2009

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is an international research initiative to measure differences among countries in the level of entrepreneurial activity, uncover factors influencing entrepreneurship in different nations, and identify policy implications for enhancing entrepreneurship. The GEM-MENA project involved the collection of adult population survey (APS) data on entrepreneurial activity levels and behaviour in seven MENA countries – Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, the West Bank & Gaza and Yemen. The Amman workshop was to build capacity and transfer technical know-how to MENA researchers on the GEM-MENA project, with how to approach country- and regional-level analysis of the APS data

Fez : the e-capital of Morocco

This story is a condensed version of a longer feature by Cairo-based journalist Nadia El-AwadyFrench version available in IDRC Digital Library: Fès, la cybercapitale du MarocArabic version available in IDRC Digital Librar

Multiple sclerosis epidemiology in Middle East and North Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common neurological disorders and a leading cause of nontraumatic disability in young adults in many countries. Recent reports from the Middle East and North Africa have suggested a moderate to high risk of MS in these countries. Methods: A literature search was performed in August 2014 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and IMEMR to retrieve original population-based studies on MS epidemiology in the Middle East and North African countries published between 1st January 1985 and 1st August 2014. We designed search strategies using the key words: MS, prevalence, incidence, and epidemiology. According to the inclusion criteria, 52 studies were included in this systematic review. Results: McDonald's criteria were the most widely used diagnostic criteria in the studies. Most studies were conducted in single hospitalbased centers with a defined catchment area. The female/male ratio ranged from 0.8 in Oman to 4.3 in Saudi Arabia. MS prevalence ranged from 14.77/100,000 population in Kuwait (2000) to 101.4/100,000 in Turkey (2006). The overall MS prevalence in the region was 51.52/100,000. The mean age at disease onset ranged from 25.2 years in Kuwait to 32.5 years in Northeastern Iran, with an overall estimate of 28.54 years. Conclusions: Recent advances in MS registries will allow nation-wide studies and temporal comparisons between countries, provided that age- and sex-standardized estimates are available. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel

Solar Desalination: Current Applications and Future Potential in MENA Region – A Case Study

The Middle East and North Africa region countries are rapidly shifting towards adoption of desalination techniques to overcome shortage of freshwater reservoirs. Climatic conditions of the region showed that these areas are arid or semi-arid with higher solar flux which makes them highly suitable for harnessing solar energy. Hence, technology of solar photovoltaic cells coupling with desalination unit is investigated extensively to treat brackish water in Middle East and North Africa region. The large-scale usage of this technology can only be happened by government quick action and subsidies to encourage the installation and commissioning of PV desalination plants or coupling existing ones. This solar desalination technique has been found to be highly environment friendly with no greenhouse gas emission. This review study will provide a road map for the future solar powered desalination plants in Middle East and North Africa region, obstacles in applicability of technique and how to overcome it to ensure a sustainable future water production in Middle East and North Africa region

Corporate social responsibility across Middle East and North Africa

This paper attempts to synthesise the reports prepared by various authors, who live and work in their homeland in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), on the notion of “corporate social responsibility” (“CSR”). The reports are prepared as a prologue for a workshop organised by New Jordanian Research Centre (URJC) on strengthening “CSR” in the businesses of the region. The authors come from different backgrounds. They were invited not to engage in an academic exercise but to capture and reflect upon the “realities” of the debate in their countries on the basis of their role as proactive participants. The objective was to detect common elements and patterns in the issues of and approaches to “CSR” in the MENA region. The authors were asked to use a common format for their reports, but left free in their approach

The Validity of the ELG Hypothesis in the MENA Region: Cointegration and Error Correction Model Analysis

The paper examines the export-led growth (ELG) hypothesis for nine Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries in three-variable vector autoregressive and error correction models. When considering total exports, our results reject the ELG hypothesis in almost all of these countries. When we examine only manufactured exports, we find no support for ELG in countries with relatively low shares of manufactured exports in total merchandise exports but strong support in countries with relatively high shares. These findings suggest that promoting exports may contribute to economic growth only after a certain threshold of manufactured exports has been reached.ELG; MENA; Middle East and North Africa; economic growth; export promotion; Granger causality; cointegration; error correction model