How can Trade Help to Rebuild and Enhance the Economies of the Southern Mediterranean Countries?

Arab countries are experiencing major changes in their governance systems. While the features of the new era are still unclear, what is certain is that a new development paradigm will be adopted and significant efforts will be made to rebuild the economies of these countries, which have been seriously disrupted due to the revolutions and their aftermath. This article seeks to answer the question of how trade can play a significant positive role in rebuilding and enhancing the economies of these Southern Mediterranean Countries

The political economy of food price policy in Egypt

The study focuses on the period 2004-09 during which Egypt experienced food crisis. The political economy context on how the government responded to the crisis is analysed while pinpointing to what extent there was a pass-through effect from international to domestic prices. The complexity of food price policy issues and their entanglement with poverty, agricultural, and economic policies in Egypt together with the structural aspects of the food subsidy policies are discussed and evaluated from a political economy perspective. Prospects for reform or lack thereof are also analysed in the context of the 25 January 2011 revolution and new political set-up

The roots of economic challenges facing Egypt in the aftermath of the 25th January revolution. Jean Monnet Occasional Paper No. 9/2014

Introduction. Since the 25th of January 2011 revolution the Egyptian economy has been suffering on all fronts. Almost all the economic indicators have been pointing towards a deteriorating situation, and in many cases have reached the trough. Yet, the economy is still surviving. This is mainly due to the unprecedented support of some of Arab Gulf countries, whose unconditional aid has helped to mitigate the deteriorating economic conditions. The economic challenges facing Egypt have been exacerbated after the 20th of January revolution mainly because of the deteriorating political and security conditions which have interrupted the functioning of the economy. Yet, this is not to say that revolution has caused these challenges. In fact, the challenges that the Egyptian has been facing have deep roots in its socio-political-economic context, which this paper aims to explain. The revolution and its aftermath have brought to the forefront challenges which have always been mitigated by short-term solutions that never dealt seriously with their roots. Moreover, the revolution has brought additional problems associated with the macroeconomic imbalances. As a result, the challenges became more complex especially in light of the need to balance the social and economic aspects. The paper proceeds as follows; in section one we pinpoint the main challenges faced by Egypt where we identify the symptoms and causes of such challenges. In section two we discuss the roots of such challenges. Finally, we conclude and provide our understanding of how Egypt is expected to face its challenges in the near future

Effect of external factors on deterioration of photo voltaic panel\u27s performance

Solar power is one of the most promising renewable energy resources. Thus, it has been under continuous research for improvement and enhancement. One type of solar power generators that has been appealing for the market is Photovoltaic solar cells (PVs). The performance of PV solar cells is effected by many factors. In a desert climate like Egypt, a major player in the performance is the sand or dust particles precipitation on the PV panels. This factor does not just affect the performance, but it also reflects on the utilizability of the power generation as a whole. In the present work field measurements of the performance of 4 different sets of identical PVs inclined at different tilt angles is presented. The measurements are conducted for many different days with a wide variety of clearness index and solar intensities, at the intervals of 15 seconds. Each set includes a PV module which was cleaned daily and two which were not cleaned, thus allowing dust accumulation to build up with time. The performance of the corresponding clean and soiled modules are compared. The study reveals that deterioration of performance of unclean (soiled) PVs is does not depend solely on the thickness of the dust layer alone, but rather by the interaction of the latter with other factors such as solar incidence angle, PV tilt angle and clearness Index. Finally the data is used to derive best fit regressive models for both daily energy performance and instantaneous performance. The models are based on true field measurements with all variable interactions present, rather than models which investigate the effect of a single variable under controlled lab conditions as common in previous investigations

Influence of Relationship Marketing Underpinnings on Egyptian Hotel Customer\u27s Satisfaction and Loyalty

This study seeks to examine relationship marketing as influenced by service provider\u27s attributes and resulting in customer\u27s satisfaction and loyalty within the Egyptian hotel industry. A conceptual model linking service provider\u27s attributes to relationship marketing underpinnings and the latter to relational outcomes defined as customer\u27s satisfaction and loyalty, was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) on a sample of 279 hotel customers in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The results showed that service provider\u27s competency significantly influences relationship marketing underpinnings. On the other hand, the influence of service provider\u27s appearance on customer\u27s perception of commitment and conflict is not supported. Further, relationship marketing underpinnings significantly influence customer\u27s satisfaction. Finally, customer\u27s satisfaction significantly influences their loyalty towards the hotel

Impact of labor standards on Egyptian exports with special emphasis on child labor

A large proportion of internationally traded goods are subject to labor standards and this proportion is on a continuing rise. Such developments created a hot debate about the impact of labor standards on trade, but there has been no clear international consensus on the net costs and benefits arising from such regulations on market access, export performance and competitiveness in developing countries. This study contributes to the debate by providing results from a survey of 83 firms in the textiles and ready-made garments industry in Egypt. The main result which derived from the descriptive analysis is that child labor is a phenomenon that exists in the textiles and ready-made garments industry with a relatively high share in the sample (16%). All destinations receive exports that embody child labor; however, the non Western destinations seem to receive the lion's share. Moreover, it has been found that a large proportion of firms with child labor export more than 50% of their output. The econometric findings which focus mainly on the determinants of the supply of core labor standards, suggest that first, several variables related to labor standards show a significant effect on the probability of a firm to export more than 50% of its output and exclusively to the West (namely EU and the US). Second, variables which ensure the enforcement of labor standards have a higher explanatory power for the probability of a firm to perform well in exports than compliance and awareness variables. Third, firms are likely to self-enforce labor standards based on their expectation to improve their market access and the competitiveness of their export products. Thus, the driving forces leading to the implementation of higher labor standards at the firm level are of economic nature rather than social. And finally, for those firms with a high volume of exports to Arab countries and for smaller firms (both exporting to the West or Arab countries), the effect of standards might lead to export diversification.Ein großer und ständig zunehmender Anteil der international gehandelten Waren unterliegt bestimmten Sozialstandards. Diese Entwicklung hat zu einer hitzigen Diskussion über die Auswirkungen solcher Standards auf den internationalen Handel geführt. Bisher konnte jedoch auf internationaler Ebene noch keine Klarheit über die Kosten und Nutzen, die aus diesen Standards für den Marktzugang, die Exportleistung und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Entwicklungsländern entstehen, erreicht werden. Die vorliegende Studie leistet einen Beitrag zur oben genannten Diskussion, indem Ergebnisse einer Befragung von 83 Textilunternehmen im Exportsektor sowie von weiteren Unternehmen im informellen Sektor in Ägypten analysiert werden. Als wesentliches Ergebnis der deskriptiven Analyse konnte gezeigt werden, dass Kinderarbeit noch ein relativ häufig vorkommendes Phänomen in der ägyptischen Textilindustrie ist (16% der befragten Unternehmen). Dies gilt für alle Exportziele (einschließlich von Industrieländern), allerdings insbesondere für Exporte in nicht westliche Länder. Darüber hinaus zeigen die Ergebnisse der Befragung, dass eine große Anzahl der Unternehmen, in denen es noch Kinderarbeit gibt, den mehrheitlichen Teil ihres Outputs (mehr als 50%) exportieren. Die ökonometrische Analyse, in der hauptsächlich die Determinanten des Angebots von Kernsozialstandards untersucht wurden, hat erstens gezeigt, dass verschiedene Variablen, die sich auf Sozialstandards beziehen, die Wahrscheinlichkeit eines Unternehmens, mehr als 50% seines Outputs und ausschließlich in westliche Länder (USA und EU) zu exportieren, signifikant beeinflussen. Zweitens zeigte die Analyse, dass Variablen, die die Durchsetzung von Arbeitsstandards garantieren, den Exporterfolg eines Unternehmens stärker beeinflussen, als Variablen, die sich auf die Einhaltung von Standards oder das Bewusstsein über Standards beziehen. Drittens sind Unternehmen eher geneigt, Sozialstandards im eigenen Unternehmen zu implementieren, wenn sie sich davon einen verbesserten Marktzugang und steigende Wettbewerbsfähigkeit ihrer Exportprodukte versprechen. Somit sind die Anreize, die zur Implementierung höherer Sozialstandards führen, zumeist ökonomischer und nicht sozialer Natur. Schließlich zeigte die Untersuchung, dass Firmen mit hohem Exportvolumen in arabische Länder und kleinere Unternehmen (die sowohl in westliche als auch arabische Länder exportieren) sich durch Sozialstandards veranlasst sehen könnten, ihre Exporte zu diversifizieren

Impact of labor standards on Egyptian exports with special emphasis on child labor

A large proportion of internationally traded goods are subject to labor standards and this proportion is on a continuing rise. Such developments created a hot debate about the impact of labor standards on trade, but there has been no clear international consensus on the net costs and benefits arising from such regulations on market access, export performance and competitiveness in developing countries. This study contributes to the debate by providing results from a survey of 83 firms in the textiles and ready-made garments industry in Egypt. The main result which derived from the descriptive analysis is that child labor is a phenomenon that exists in the textiles and ready-made garments industry with a relatively high share in the sample (16%). All destinations receive exports that embody child labor; however, the non Western destinations seem to receive the lion’s share. Moreover, it has been found that a large proportion of firms with child labor export more than 50% of their output. The econometric findings which focus mainly on the determinants of the supply of core labor standards, suggest that first, several variables related to labor standards show a significant effect on the probability of a firm to export more than 50% of its output and exclusively to the West (namely EU and the US). Second, variables which ensure the enforcement of labor standards have a higher explanatory power for the probability of a firm to perform well in exports than compliance and awareness variables. Third, firms are likely to self-enforce labor standards based on their expectation to improve their market access and the competitiveness of their export products. Thus, the driving forces leading to the implementation of higher labor standards at the firm level are of economic nature rather than social. And finally, for those firms with a high volume of exports to Arab countries and for smaller firms (both exporting to the West or Arab countries), the effect of standards might lead to export diversification

Antegrade Intermittent Cold Cardioplegia in Comparison to Antegrade Intermittent Warm Cardioplegia in Heart Valve Surgery

Paper withdrawn upon authors request: Request received: 22 May 2020 Paper withdrawn: 22 May 2020 &nbsp

(R1989) Mixed Convection Slippery Cross Fluid Flow due to a Stratified Sheet under the Effect of Radiation Phenomenon

In view of the meaning of a two dimensional laminar Cross liquid in depicting an exhaustive assortment of experimental information, an assessment is done for a numerical and mathematical arrangement over a stratified extensible sheet. The non-dimensionality technique is brought into the controlling equations within the sight of the slip phenomenon and to make the solution more thorough. The data have been taken at a steady, viscous and laminar ow. Heat transfer across fluid is employed as a non-Newtonian fluid, where the fluid has a affected by radiation. Additionally, thermal radiation and heat generation are considered with the basic influence on the temperature field. The work has been performed to yield a completely new concept of the presence relationship between the governing parameters and the rate of heat transfer. Numerical analysis with the aid of the shooting method of the governing equations of motion is given over a wide range of controlling parameters. A bunch of graph plots both velocity and temperature fields at various upsides of physical parameters. Furthermore, a tabular form of the same parameters exists for the local shear stress and the rate of heat transfer along the sheet