Relationship between Remittances and Macroeconomic Variables in Times of Political and Social Upheaval: Evidence from Tunisia's Arab Spring

If Tunisia was hailed as a success story with its high rankings on economic, educational, and other indicators compared to other Arab countries, the 2011 popular uprisings demonstrate the need for political reforms but also major economic reforms. The Arab spring highlights the fragility of its main economic pillars including the tourism and the foreign direct investment. In such turbulent times, the paper examines the economic impact of migrant' remittances, expected to have a countercyclical behavior. Our results reveal that prior to the Arab Spring, the impacts of remittances on growth and consumption seem negative and positive respectively, while they varyingly influence local investment. These three relationships held in the short-run. By considering the period surrounding the 2011 uprisings, the investment effect of remittances becomes negative and weak in the short-and medium-run, whereas positive and strong remittances' impacts on growth and consumption are found in the long term.Comment: ERF 23rd Annual Conference , Mar 2017, Amman, Jorda

The rise of "bad civil society" in Israel: nationalist civil society organizations and the politics of delegitimization

Civil society in Israel has been undergoing a growing conflict that mirrors broader trends taking place in Israeli society, namely the conflict between the rising conservative nationalist social forces and the dwindling liberal and humanist camp represented by human rights organizations (HROs). There has been a clear rise in the power of conservative nationalist civil society organizations (CSOs), which receive firm support from politicians who have influential positions in the Israeli government. These organizations have been leading aggressive political and media campaigns against HROs, especially those involved in defending the rights of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and under siege in the Gaza Strip. The conservative nationalist CSOs accuse HROs of being anti-patriotic and cooperating with the enemies of society and the state. They utilize three strategies to promote their agenda. The first is delegitimizing HROs through naming and shaming tactics. They lead well-orchestrated political and media campaigns that associate HROs with terrorist organizations. The second is silencing HROs by shaming the institutions – educational, cultural, and media – that invite the former to speak to their audiences. The third strategy is cutting off the sources of funding for HROs through lobbying activities in donor countries and putting pressure on governments to stop their funding of the former. (Autorenreferat

Education, Genre et Transferts de fonds des migrants: Quelles interactions dans le Maroc rural ?

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between remittances and educational attainment in Morocco. We investigate how recipient households in Morocco decide to send their children to school.. We use newly survey data on the Souss-Massa-Draa region. Based on probit and instrumental variables estimates to control for endogeneity of remittances, we find a positive effect of remittances on the investments in education, especially for boys. Furthermore, the results show that family and community characteristics such as the level of parental education, the number of children enrolled in the household and the ICDH have a significant impact on the ability of households to support their children's education. They also show the importance of the child's sex in the educational success

Education, Genre et Transferts de fonds des migrants: Quelles interactions dans le Maroc rural ?

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between remittances and educational attainment in Morocco. We investigate how recipient households in Morocco decide to send their children to school.. We use newly survey data on the Souss-Massa-Draa region. Based on probit and instrumental variables estimates to control for endogeneity of remittances, we find a positive effect of remittances on the investments in education, especially for boys. Furthermore, the results show that family and community characteristics such as the level of parental education, the number of children enrolled in the household and the ICDH have a significant impact on the ability of households to support their children's education. They also show the importance of the child's sex in the educational success

Les transferts de fonds réduisent-ils la pauvreté et les inégalités de revenus? Une vérification empirique à travers une enquête dans le milieu rural marocain

For several decades the fight against poverty has become a major policy concern for national governments and international institutions. In this paper, we examine the effect of remittances on poverty and inequality by using an original database of migrants in Morocco. The survey data were collected in the region of Souss-Massa-Draa. We estimate the migrant home earnings under the assumptions of absence of migration and remittances before comparing it to the household income when the migrant leave their native countries. We find that remittances can reduce the number of poor and vulnerable household. Our findings also suggest that these remittances inflows have increased income inequality when compared with the no-migration counterfactual situation

The effects of remittances on poverty and inequality: Evidence from rural southern Morocco

In this paper, we examine the effect of migrants’ remittances on poverty and inequality. The survey data were collected in Morocco, in the rural areas of the region Souss-Massa-Draa. By applying an original approach, we estimate the counterfactual income of remittance-recipient households corresponding to a hypothetical value of its average income calculated for a scenario without remittances; this is then compared with its current income. We find that the poverty rate and the vulnerability of non-poor households are significantly dropped due to remittances. Our findings also suggest that remittance inflows have increased income inequality compared to the no-migration counterfactual situation

Les transferts de fonds réduisent-ils la pauvreté et les inégalités de revenus? Une vérification empirique à travers une enquête dans le milieu rural marocain

For several decades the fight against poverty has become a major policy concern for national governments and international institutions. In this paper, we examine the effect of remittances on poverty and inequality by using an original database of migrants in Morocco. The survey data were collected in the region of Souss-Massa-Draa. We estimate the migrant home earnings under the assumptions of absence of migration and remittances before comparing it to the household income when the migrant leave their native countries. We find that remittances can reduce the number of poor and vulnerable household. Our findings also suggest that these remittances inflows have increased income inequality when compared with the no-migration counterfactual situation

On the reactions of sectoral equity returns to oil price in France: Implications for portfolio allocation

Instead of conducting overall stock market index analysis, this paper focuses on the reactions of sectoral equity returns (Industrials, Financials and Banks, Health care, Information Technology, Consumer goods, Materials, Oil and Gas, Telecommunications) to oil price changes in France. From a methodological perspective, this study uses a new method, called the quantile-on-quantile (QQ) approach. Even though this technique is based on the quantile regression paradigm, it departs from the conventional framework as the exogenous variable may be itself a quantile. It allows looking further into hidden factors driving the link between oil price and stock returns which the standard econometric methods are unsuitable to accommodate. QQ views the nature and sensitivity of the stock returns responses to oil price shocks change greatly across sectors of activity and tail distributions. Specifically, Industrials, Materials, and Oil and Gas equities are typically more reactive towards oil price shocks. The response of Financials and Banks is relatively weak, while it appears negligible for Health care, Information Technology, Consumer goods and Telecommunications. The frequency domain causality test (relying on signal theory) has demonstrated its functionality and adequacy in this exercise. On the basis of this article’ outcomes, market participants could enhance the risk-adjusted return of their portfolios by pursuing a sector-based portfolio investment strategy. Also, introducing oil asset into a diversified portfolio of stocks enables to invigorate its risk-return features

Do Financial Flows raise or reduce Economic growth Volatility? Some Lessons from Moroccan case

The purpose of the paper is twofold. Firstly, it attempts to analyze accurately the volatility of economic growth and financial flows (i.e. remittances and FDI) in the case of Morocco. Secondly, it tries to address the possible effects of these financial flows on the economic growth. We provide evidence that remittances are less volatile than FDI in terms of duration of persistence, intensity of shock and the “volatility clustering”. Furthermore, remittances can smooth the volatility of growth, while FDI flows sustain and aggravate it. Altruistic foundations, counter-cyclicality and concentration of remittances in Europe have been advanced as elements of explanation of these outcomes. Similarly, foreign investors seeking only profits have a pro-cyclical behavior and are greatly sensitive to economic conditions in the country of origin