Towards measurement of political pressure on central banks in the emerging market economies: the case of the central bank of Egypt

This paper assesses whether the legal independence granted to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) under the latest legislation is factual. I followed Fry’s methodology, which assumes that the level of independence of the central bank is determined by fiscal attributes. In an attempt to develop Fry’s method, I used a simple criterion to assess the central bank’s independence, namely, that the central bank is actually independent if it can fulfill its money supply target. Applying this criterion to the CBE and some other CBs in the developed countries and emerging market economies, we find that: (i) the legal independence granted to the CBE under the latest legislation is not factual; although the final objective of monetary policy is to achieve price stability, the CBE failed to fulfill its money supply target and achieve price stability, because it was responsive to political pressure and did not react to fulfill its money supply target; (ii) such political pressure on the CBE is due to fiscal attributes, as measured by domestic credit to the government; (iii) CBs whose independence is factual, according to our criterion, showed a negative relationship between the legal indices, as measured by the GMT index, and the fiscal attributes measured by DCGY. However, the relationship was anomalous when measured by the rate of inflationmonetary policy; central bank independence; fiscal dominance; political pressure

Revolución en Egipto: 18 días de ira y de esperanza

Los grupos de jóvenes egipcios organizados por Internet convocaron las protestas del 25 de enero para defender los restos del Estado moderno, la integridad de la sociedad y el respeto de su derecho a participar efectivamente en la gestión de los asuntos públicos. El éxito de la convocatoria se debió, en gran medida, a la participación masiva de todos los sectores de la sociedad egipcia. La irrupción de las protestas masivas a lo largo y ancho de Egipto en la última semana de enero asombró al mundo y a los propios egipcios. A lo largo de casi tres semanas, las protestas se intensificaron y los manifestantes fueron haciéndose cada vez más fuertes hasta que el régimen se derrumbó. En este análisis se tratarán las causas de las protestas, su naturaleza y forma. También se analizarán los participantes en el movimiento y sus objetivos, y, por último, se examinará la reacción del Estado y las actitudes de las potencias árabes y extranjeras. La conclusión versará sobre la salida de la crisis y el futuro del sistema político egipcio

La transición en Egipto (I): los actores

En esta serie de dos ARI se analiza la transición iniciada en Egipto tras la caída del presidente Hosni Mubarak el pasado 11 de febrero, teniendo en cuenta los actores y los temas que están marcando dicha transición. Han pasado nueve meses desde el desencadenamiento del movimiento popular que resultó en el derrocamiento del presidente Hosni Mubarak después de casi 30 años de ejercicio de un poder cada día más autoritario, represivo, caprichoso, corrupto y alejado de la realidad política, social y económica del país. Los millones de egipcios que se sumaron a las manifestaciones durante 18 días en todas las grandes ciudades del país no tenían, sin embargo, el único propósito de destituir a su presidente de tres décadas. Éste sólo era un medio para realizar sus objetivos esenciales expresados en los tres eslóganes del movimiento: libertad, dignidad y justicia social. Esta realización suponía el desmantelamiento completo del régimen y la construcción de un nuevo sistema político verdaderamente representativo y democrático, que obrara en el interés general, entendido como el de la mayoría de la población. Cabe preguntarse nueve meses después dónde ha quedado la realización de los objetivos del movimiento

Operating Under Erasure: Race/Language/Identity

Based on a critical ethnographic research project, this paper is about the impact of becoming Black on ESL learning; that is, the interrelation between identity formation, identification, race, culture and second language learning. It contends that a group of French-speaking immigrant and refugee continental francophone African youths who are attending an urban Franco-Ontarian high school in south- western Ontario, Canada, enters, so to speak, a social imaginary, a discursive space in which they are already imagined, constructed, and thus treated as Blacks by hegemonic discourses and groups. This imaginary is directly implicated in whom they identify with (Black America), which in turn influences what and how they linguistically and culturally learn. They learn Black English as a second language (BESL), which they access in hip-hop culture and rap lyrical and linguistic styles. Conducted within an interdisciplinary framework, this critical ethnography shows that (ESL) learning is neither neutral nor without its politics and pedagogy of desire and investment. En se basant sur un projet de recherche ethnographique critique, l\u27auteur considère l\u27effet de devenir Noir dans l\u27étude d\u27anglais comme langue seconde (ESL), c\u27est-à-dire la corrélation entre la formation de l\u27identité, l\u27identification, la race, la culture, et l\u27étude de la seconde langue. Il s\u27agit d\u27un groupe de jeunes immigrants et réfugiés francophones venant d\u27Afrique et allant à une école secondaire de langue française dans un centre urbain du sud-ouest de l\u27Ontario, Canada. L\u27auteur soutient que ces jeunes, pour le dire, entrent dans un espace social, décousu, imaginaire dans lequel ils se sont déjà imaginés, composés, et donc traités comme des Noirs à cause d’un discours hégémoniques. Cet espace imaginaire est directement impliqué sur ceux avec lesquels ils s\u27identifient notament des Afro-américains et qui, à leur tour, influencent sur ce qu\u27ils apprennent en langue et en culture. Ils ont appris l\u27anglais des Noirs comme langue seconde (BESL) qu\u27ils ont appris par la culture hip-hop, les paroles et l\u27expression linguistique du Rap. Conduit dans un cadre interdisciplinaire, cette étude ethnographique critique souligne le fait que l\u27apprentissage de langue (ESL) n\u27est ni neutre, ni indépendant des politiques et de la pédagogie du désir et de l\u27investissement

Population movements in the aftermath of the Arab awakening : the Syrian refugee crisis between regional factors and state interest

The awakening of several Arab countries on the southern and eastern rims of the Mediterranean in the winter 2010-2011 raised concerns, particularly in European countries, about the migration flows it could engender. It was considered that political instability and the ensuing economic slowdown would be at the origin of large migration flows. A senior political figure in the European Union (EU) warned of migration flows of “Biblical dimensions”. The fact is that, despite some initial movements of contained magnitude in the spring 2011, the large flows did not materialize. In the largest country on the southern rim, Egypt, repeated surveys among young Egyptians indicated the desire to migrate did not increase in the two years of political changes that followed the breakout of the Arab Awakening.peer-reviewe

Using econometric analysis of willingness-to-pay to investigate economic efficiency and equity of domestic water services in the West Bank

The paper is aimed at providing evidence on economic efficiency, and equity of distribution of domestic water services in the West Bank. The study utilizes the CVM as a means of monetizing public preferences and households’ WTP. In the CVM questionnaire, the dichotomous choice with follow-up debriefing questions format is followed by an open-ended follow-up question was undertaken. A second questionnaire survey was directed to employees from water institutions, which was mainly designed to investigate the reasons behind the full absence of private sector in the provision of water supply. The two samples were selected to ensure a representative samples in accordance with the Palestinian case. The main findings of this paper gauged the WTP with key socioeconomic variables suggested by economic theory and previous CVM studies. These results provide information on economic efficiency and equity of water distribution. The results will allow decision makers to develop new policies that can achieve more efficient and equitable domestic water services

Environmental conditions in displaced communities of Khartoum State, Sudan

Inadequate environmental sanitation has been recognized as a public health hazard worldwide. Nearly one quarter of all deaths and of the total disease burden and slightly more than one-third for children can be attributed to the changes and degradation of the environment. This study examined the environmental conditions of the displaced communities in Khartoum State, Sudan. A community-based descriptive, cross-sectional survey design was used for a population of 726,989 inhabitants of the Displaced communities in Khartoum State. Multi-stage cluster sampling was used in selecting 662 households in these communities and a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, Chi-square test and multiple logistic regressions. Results showed that protected dug wells and tap water were the major sources of water supply in the study area, usually transferred to the house by cart and almost all was not treated. The major source of toilet facilities was traditional pit latrine and more than one-fifth of the populations share common latrines. More than one-third of the families had animals inside their housing. Almost half of the families were disposing their rubbish in collection areas far from housing followed by burning of rubbish, which had been used by more than one-third of them. More than one-fifth of the households’ preschool children (21.3%) had diarrhea. A result of multiple logistic regressions showed that, time of hand washing (when to wash hand) was independently predictive for diarrhea among the households’ preschool children (B = 0.005, Wald test = 6.758, p=0.009). It can therefore, be concluded that the environmental conditions including access to improved sources of water and hygienic latrines in these communities were accepted, although there were still some negative environmental practices, which can affect the safety of water and promote diseases spread. Bad hygienic practice was prevalent and led to high rates of diarrhea among the households’ children. Therefore, to improve the environmental conditions in these communities, authorities should establish and enforce a more healthy environmental conditions approach and health promotion activities to improve the hygienic practice.Key words: Displaced communities, Khartoum State, environmental conditions, hygienic practice and diarrhea

Measles Vaccination among Children (12 to 23 Months) in IDPs Settlements of Khartoum State, Sudan

Objectives: To assess the coverage rate of measles vaccine among children 12 to 23 months old and causes behind non-immunization in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) settlements.Methods: A multistage cluster sampling, community-based, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in IDPs Settlements of Khartoum State, Sudan, in 2009. Questionnaires were collected from 210 children (12 to 23 months) old to determine the coverage rate and causes behind non-immunization with measles vaccine.Results: Almost one quarter (24.8%) of children was not vaccinated by measles and the coverage rate was 75.2%; most of them had a vaccination card (86%) which means a high documentation and verification of mothers answers and only 14% verified the immunization status of their children by memory. The major cause of none vaccination was because of the busyness of the mother to take her child for vaccination, which comprises 10% of the children, followed by 6.2% of children not vaccinated because their mothers give no reason for not vaccinating their children. There was evidence of a significant association (P-Value = 0.037) between education level of the mothers' and numbers of children under five years in the family with the immunization of Measles.Conclusion: Coverage of measles vaccination among children aged 12-23 months in IDPs settlements in Khartoum state was reasonably acceptable. The most common reasons for non-immunization were that the caretakers were busy to take their children for vaccination and being unaware of need to return for measles vaccine. Apply a health promotion program and use of different comprehensive interventions to convince mothers to complete measles immunization and increases coverage rate, also plan and implement an effective health education program to increase the awareness of mothers on the importance of measles vaccination