Technical Assistance to CIS Countries

During the last two decades the CIS countries have received very significant amounts of technical assistance from international development organizations and bilateral donors. While this has played a positive and important role in the transformation of these societies, practically all stakeholders currently share the opinion that many problems have accumulated in the area of technical cooperation with CIS countries. This paper intends to outline these problems, analyze their underlying reasons - including the changing environment for technical cooperation in the CIS - and the interaction of the interests of beneficiaries, donors and providers in the process of implementing technical cooperation projects. The analysis suggests that a good understanding, recognition and coordination of the interests of all TC stakeholders and a reduction in the information gap between the various participants in the technical cooperation process are necessary for improving the effectiveness of technical cooperation.technical assistance, technical cooperation, TC effectiveness, CIS

International migration and local employment: analysis of self-selection and earnings in Tajikistan

This paper addresses the issue of self-selection of individuals in international labour migration, non-agricultural and agricultural employment in Tajikistan and its link to earnings from these activities. Unlike most empirical studies, we could attribute selection bias on unobservable characteristics to the allocation of individuals to alternative employment sectors and analyse its impact on earnings abroad and at home. We have found positive selection in migration against local non-agricultural activities and positive selection in local non-agricultural activities against local agricultural activities. This indicates that the most capable individuals with regards to unobservable characteristics choose to migrate, while the somewhat less able choose non-agricultural activities, and individuals with the worst capabilities stay in poorly-paid agricultural activities. Controlling for self-selection, labour income returns to education of migrants and individuals in non-agricultural activities are slightly lower than those from Ordinary Least Squares (OLS).international migration, self-selection, earnings, Tajikistan

Technical assistance to CIS countries

During the last two decades the CIS countries have received very significant amounts of technical assistance from international development organizations and bilateral donors. While this has played a positive and important role in the transformation of these societies, practically all stakeholders currently share the opinion that many problems have accumulated in the area of technical cooperation with CIS countries. This paper intends to outline these problems, analyze their underlying reasons - including the changing environment for technical cooperation in the CIS - and the interaction of the interests of beneficiaries, donors and providers in the process of implementing technical cooperation projects. The analysis suggests that a good understanding, recognition and coordination of the interests of all TC stakeholders and a reduction in the information gap between the various participants in the technical cooperation process are necessary for improving the effectiveness of technical cooperation

Heterogeneous impact of traveling to Western countries on gender norms in Middle East and North Africa countries

Social gender norms shape individuals’ opportunities and actions. Traditional and gender biased norms can contribute to persistent gender disparities. However, counter-stereotypical images can shift an expected behavior for men and women. This paper investigates if traveling to Western countries relaxes gender norms in the Middle East and North Africa region using the Arab Barometer data. Preliminary empirical findings suggest that international travel to Western countries relaxes gender norms only for those individuals who spend abroad longer than one month and only for less binding gender norms not associated with changing power relationships between men and women

Heterogeneous impact of traveling to Western countries on gender norms in Middle East and North Africa countries

Social gender norms shape individuals’ opportunities and actions. Traditional and gender biased norms can contribute to persistent gender disparities. However, counter-stereotypical images can shift an expected behavior for men and women. This paper investigates if traveling to Western countries relaxes gender norms in the Middle East and North Africa region using the Arab Barometer data. Preliminary empirical findings suggest that international travel to Western countries relaxes gender norms only for those individuals who spend abroad longer than one month and only for less binding gender norms not associated with changing power relationships between men and women

The Development Gap Between the CIS and EU

Current report aims to identify major existing gaps in the five socio-economic dimensions (economic, human, openness, environmental, and institutional) and to reveal those gaps which could potentially hinder social and economic integration of neighbor states with the EU. To achieve this, the authors aim to assess the existing trends in the size of the gaps across countries and problem areas, taking into consideration the specific origin of the gap between EU15/EU12, on the one hand, and FSU republics, EU candidates and West Balkan countries, on the other hand. The paper is structured as follows: 1. A review of literature on the determinants of growth and development and the analysis of the catching up process between countries or groups of countries. 2. An analysis of the historic roots and origins of the development gap, and its evolvement over time. 3. A review of literature sources, draft analysis of primary statistical data, and qualitative explanations of gaps and divergences in selected development issues across the following socio-economic dimensions: level of economic development and convergence rates based on Real GDP (application of methodology testing ß and ? convergence to the set of countries analyzed); • quality of life and its components (poverty, inequality, health status and health care, access to fresh water and sanitation facilities, subjective perceptions of well-being); • human capital and labor market development, including level of education and public spending on education, its accessibility and quality, main differences in labor market development (employment participation rates and levels of unemployment, new jobs creation and labor protection legislation); • innovation potential, including R&D, information and communication technologies, and institutional environment; • openness and trade potential, including trade in goods and services, FDI stocks, trade regime and performance in logistics and infrastructure; THE DEVELOPMENT GAP BETWEEN THE CIS AND EU 15 CASE Network Reports No. 81 • environmental performance in terms of environmental stresses, efforts aimed at their reduction, and institutional capacity; • business climate, political institutions, and other institutional indicators (econometric analysis). 4. A test econometric analysis of development gaps across selected dimensions by using a Principal Components Method (PCM). The results are further presented in the form of ranks of countries analyzed reflecting their distances from EU15 in respective aggregate averages. Special attention is paid to gender-related development issues. Respective issues in human capital and labor market study, as well as variables included into PCM analysis were supplemented with relative gender data. Several conclusions finalize the report.EU, CIS, development gap, GDP, convergence, quality of life, human capital, innovation, environment, institutions, Principal Components Method