ON THE DYNAMICS OF THE ISRAELI-ARAB ARMS RACE

This paper investigates the causal relationships between the military expenditures and military burden of the four major sides of the Israeli-Arab conflict, namely, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria over the period 1960-2004. We utilize both the causality test suggested by Toda and Yamamoto (1995) and the generalized forecast error variance decomposition method of Pesaran and Shin (1998). Our findings suggest weak causality that runs usually from Israel’s to Arab’s military spending. The strongest links are between Israel and Syria that are still in a state of enmity. No causality was detected between Israel’s and Jordan’s military spending.Arms race, Middle East, Israeli-Arab conflict, Causality, Generalized Forecast Error Variance Decomposition

STRUCTURAL BREAKS IN MILITARY EXPENDITURES: EVIDENCE FOR EGYPT, ISRAEL,JORDAN AND SYRIA

This paper endogenously determines the timing of structural breaks in military expenditures and military burdens for the major parties involved in the Israeli-Arab conflict, namely Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Syria over the period 1960-2004. Utilizing a test proposed by Vogelsang (1997), we find that all these countries experienced structural breaks, though at different periods in the late 70s and during the 80s. These structural breaks mark a sharp decline in the military burden that can be attributed to the peace talks that were initiated shortly after the 1973 war. When applying the Bai and Perron (1998, 2003) multiple structural break tests we detect two structural breaks for every country. The first break occurred during the 60s and demonstrated a significant rise in the military burden prior to the 1973 war, whereas the second break occurred in the late 70s and during the 80s and was characterized by a sharp decline in the military burden following the instigation of peace negotiations.Military Expenditures, Military Burden, Middle-East, Israeli-Arab Conflict, Structural Breaks.

THE IMPACT OF GATT ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE: EVIDENCE FROM STRUCTURAL BREAK ANALYSIS

In this study we test for structural changes in international trade patterns of 77 countries over the post-WWII period, to examine if they experienced a substantial increase in their trade ratios following major GATT rounds such as the Kennedy Round, or after joining GATT. Our results show that trade ratios of most of these countries exhibited structural breaks in their time paths, however, most of the postbreak paths were below the extrapolated prebreak paths. Furthermore, while the significant break years coincided closely with major regional and international events such as the oil shocks of the 70s and the East-Asian financial crisis in 1997, they occurred far before or after the time of a country's accession to GATT or the time of the major GATT rounds.International Trade, Trade Liberalization, Structural Change, Oil Shocks, Kennedy Round, East Asia, Financial Crisis.

Financial Sector Competition and Knowledge Economy: Evidence from SSA and MENA Countries

The goal of this paper is to assess how financial sector competition plays out in the development of knowledge economy (KE). It contributes at the same time to the macroeconomic literature on measuring financial development and response to the growing field of KE by means of informal sector promotion, micro finance and mobile banking. It suggests a practicable way to disentangle the effects of various financial sectors on different components of KE. The variables identified under the World Bank’s four knowledge economy index (KEI) are employed. Three hypotheses based on seven propositions are tested. Results show: (1) the informal financial sector, a previously missing component in the definition of the financial system by the IMF significantly affects KE dimensions; (2) disentangling different components of the existing measurement of the financial system improves dynamics in the KE-finance nexus and; (3) introduction of measures of sector importance provides relevant new insights into how financial sector competition affects KE

How are compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction affected by quality of working life? Findings from a survey of mental health staff in Italy

BACKGROUND: Quality of working life includes elements such as autonomy, trust, ergonomics, participation, job complexity, and work-life balance. The overarching aim of this study was to investigate if and how quality of working life affects Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Compassion Satisfaction among mental health practitioners. METHODS: Staff working in three Italian Mental Health Departments completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale, measuring Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Compassion Satisfaction, and the Quality of Working Life Questionnaire. The latter was used to collect socio-demographics, occupational characteristics and 13 indicators of quality of working life. Multiple regressions controlling for other variables were undertaken to predict Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Compassion Satisfaction. RESULTS: Four hundred questionnaires were completed. In bivariate analyses, experiencing more ergonomic problems, perceiving risks for the future, a higher impact of work on life, and lower levels of trust and of perceived quality of meetings were associated with poorer outcomes. Multivariate analysis showed that (a) ergonomic problems and impact of work on life predicted higher levels of both Compassion Fatigue and Burnout; (b) impact of life on work was associated with Compassion Fatigue and lower levels of trust and perceiving more risks for the future with Burnout only; (c) perceived quality of meetings, need of training, and perceiving no risks for the future predicted higher levels of Compassion Satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: In order to provide adequate mental health services, service providers need to give their employees adequate ergonomic conditions, giving special attention to time pressures. Building trustful relationships with management and within the teams is also crucial. Training and meetings are other important targets for potential improvement. Additionally, insecurity about the future should be addressed as it can affect both Burnout and Compassion Satisfaction. Finally, strategies to reduce possible work-life conflicts need to be considered