Inequality and Growth in Tunisia: Empirical evidence on the role of macroeconomic factors

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between income inequality, economic growth and the main macroeconomic factors in Tunisia. We investigate two effects: the effect of inequality on growth, and particularly, the effect of growth on inequality. Also, attention has been focused on the role of the monetary policy, via introducing money supply as an independent variable, in affecting inequality and growth. Our empirical study is based on a series of annual data from 1975 to 2015 using the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) method in order to estimate the cointegrating equations. The findings of the paper show that income inequality increase economic growth in Tunisia. Other factors having significant positive effect on economic growth include money supply and life expectancy at birth. However, inflation rate, primary education and unemployment have statistically significant and negative effect on economic growth. On the other hand, the results indicate that money supply, inflation rate, unemployment and savings are positively and significantly related to income inequality, whereas, life expectancy at birth and gross fixed capital formation decrease inequality in Tunisia. The policy implications of these results are discussed

Do Payment Technology Innovations Affect Currency Demand in Tunisia?

This study investigates the impact of non-cash payment technologies on demand for currency in Tunisia using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration approach from  2010M12 to 2018M7.  In this context, our findings indicate a negative influence of EFT-POS terminals on currency demand. We have also shown that the demand for currency is positively influenced by the increase in the number of ATMs and the volume of transactions made by bank cards in circulation, reflecting the frequent use of cards to receive cash in Tunisia.   Whereas, the impact of increase in check payments on demand for currency is negative and not significant. The empirical evidence shows that there is preference for cash in payment habits by Tunisian consumers.  So, it should be noted that despite the development of payment systems, cash still attractive and an easier substitute for non-cash payments in Tunisia.

Inequality and Growth in Tunisia: Empirical evidence on the role of macroeconomic factors

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between income inequality, economic growth and the main macroeconomic factors in Tunisia. We investigate two effects: the effect of inequality on growth, and particularly, the effect of growth on inequality. Also, attention has been focused on the role of the monetary policy, via introducing money supply as an independent variable, in affecting inequality and growth. Our empirical study is based on a series of annual data from 1975 to 2015 using the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) method in order to estimate the cointegrating equations. The findings of the paper show that income inequality increase economic growth in Tunisia. Other factors having significant positive effect on economic growth include money supply and life expectancy at birth. However, inflation rate, primary education and unemployment have statistically significant and negative effect on economic growth. On the other hand, the results indicate that money supply, inflation rate, unemployment and savings are positively and significantly related to income inequality, whereas, life expectancy at birth and gross fixed capital formation decrease inequality in Tunisia. The policy implications of these results are discussed

Didymella fabae Punith.: mating type occurrence, distribution and phenotyping of the anamorph Ascochyta fabae Speg. in Tunisia

Faba bean ascochyta blight, caused by Ascochyta fabae Speg. (teleomorph: Didymella fabae Punith.), is one of the most devastating diseases of the crop. It can cause yield losses that reach 95% in conducive weather conditions. Surveys were carried out in five regions of Tunisia: Beja, Bizerte, Jendouba, Kef and Tunis-Cap Bon. A total of 513 fungal isolates were collected from 2011 to 2013. A molecular characterization was conducted to identify the mating type of each individual using a mating type specific PCR. Results revealed that the two mating types MAT1-2 and MAT1-1 coexisted in all surveyed regions. An imbalance in favor of MAT1-2 was observed particularly in Bizerte and Jendouba regions (sex ratio was 18:85 and 32:80, respectively). Moreover, morphological and pathogenic characterization of 122 isolates among the collection revealed a significant variability in conidia type (one celled or two celled conidia) frequency, in conidia mean size and in aggressiveness toward Badii faba bean cultivar (incubation period, IP; percentage necrotic leaf area, S; and area under disease progression curve, AUDPC). A principal component analysis (PCA) performed on morphologically studied parameters (frequency of conidia cell number and conidia mean size) identified three groups of isolates based on morphological traits: one celled (1C) and two celled (2C) conidia rates, one celled and two celled conidia length and width (1L, 1W, 2L and 2W, respectively). A second PCA using aggressiveness parameters (IP: Incubation period, S1, S4 and S9: percentage of necrotic leaf area respectively 5, 20 and 45 days after inoculation) identified three distinct pathogenic groups: poorly pathogenic AG1, moderately pathogenic AG2 and highly pathogenic AG3. Morphological and pathogenic groups and mating type data were used to conduct a multiple factorial correspondence analysis (MFCA) which revealed a correlation between the variables studied. Five groups were identified, each associated with a morphological and pathogenic trait and mating type. The most pathogenic group belonged to MAT1-2 suggesting that in locations where MAT1-2 is prevalent the epidemic risk is more important

Population structure of the faba bean blight pathogen Ascochyta fabae (teleomorph, Didymella fabae) in Tunisia

International audienceAscochyta blight, caused by Ascochyta fabae (teleomorph: Didymella fabae) has decreased faba bean production in Tunisia and worldwide. The teleomorph has recently been observed in Tunisia, raising new questions of how to control this major disease. Isolates (317) of the pathogen were obtained between 2011 and 2013, from four geographical regions in Tunisia (Beja, Bizerte, Jendouba and Tunis). The 240 isolates obtained in 2012 were compared for mating type frequency and genetic variation by using ten polymorphic SSR markers. Of these isolates, MAT1-2 was more common (2:1) in Tunisia than MAT1-1, but this ratio can change according to population. Low to high genetic variation was detected between locations and among pathogen populations. Beja showed the greatest genotypic richness (R = 0.42), followed by Tunis (R = 0.25), Bizerte (R = 0.13), and Jendouba (R = 0.11). Indices of association (I-A) and Rd were significantly different from 0 in all the populations, suggesting high multilocus linkage disequilibrium and confirming clonal populations. Population structure of the isolates was inferred using Bayesian analyses, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Minimum Spanning Networks, which all revealed that the populations from each location were not distinct. Evaluating changes in seasonal genetic diversity showed low to high variances of F-ST values between the two cropping seasons in all regions. However, the PCA analysis failed to separate the A. fabae isolates sampled during the two successive seasons into two groups, indicating that these populations did not constitute distinct genetic groups. These results suggest that gene flow was limited among populations, even those separated by short geographic distances. Future studies should enlarge the number of samples of representative populations, to overcome the limitations of a small sample size and to provide a more accurate assessment of A. fabae population structure

Temporal and spatial dynamics of ascochyta blight caused by Ascochyta fabae speg. In faba bean fields in Tunisia

International audienceAscochyta blight of faba bean, caused by Ascochyta fabae (teleomorph: Didymella fabae) is one of the most destructive diseases of faba bean in Tunisia. Temporal and spatial development of ascochyta blight were studied and characterized during 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 in three faba bean fields located in Oued Mliz, Oued Beja and Mornag, using mathematical and geostatistical analyses. Mass Disease Index (MDI) was assessed every two weeks in each quadrat located around the central source of inoculum. Richards’ function well described disease progress in all sites except for Oued Beja in 2011–2012, the shape parameter m is significantly close to 1 placing the model in its particular form of Gompertz and confirming the polycyclic characteristic of the epidemic. Empirical analysis showed that the effect to locations on epidemic dynamics was explained by highly significant environmental effect (temperature, rain events). These differences in epidemic dynamics were confirmed by the analysis of parameters estimated by the Richards’ model (average relative disease progression rate (rw), proportional average relative disease progression rate (rwp), maximum disease progression rate at inflection point (ri), time at inflection point (ti), MDI at the inflection point (yi)). Analyzing the spatial structure dynamics of the disease using Lloyed Index of Patchiness (LIP) and the mapped disease distribution at different dates showed that LIP was estimated by an exponential functionthat decreased over time in all sites and seasons. LIP dropped below 1 (limit value for aggregated distribution) after 12, 25, 30, 36 and 48 daysat Oued Beja and Oued Mliz during both seasons and during the second season in Mornag. After these periods, the disease distribution is randomly distributed. However, according to the mapping, disease distribution was aggregated in terms of severity even at the end of the epidemics, indicating different temporal dynamics such as changes in distance from the inoculum sourc