RETHINKING POVERTY ANALYSIS, TOWARDS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH TO DEPRIVATION

RETHINKING POVERTY ANALYSIS, TOWARDS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH TO DEPRIVATION Abdelhamid Nechad, Professor at Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Morocco Associate Professor at ESCA Casablanca ABSTRACT Inventors of quantitative estimation of national income, which received much attention, attempted to explain that their ultimate and main interest was the wealth of human existence, although what impressed were their indices, rather than their motivations. Yet, such deep and underlying motivation has often been ignored in economic analysis where means of existence are the center and fruit of research. It is, however, important not to confuse the means and ends. Therefore, one should not focus on the intrinsic importance of income, but rather assess it depending on what it builds, particularly lives that are worthy of living. Having a decent income helps to avoid early death. Such an enterprise depends also on other characteristics, namely the organization of society, including public health, medical care, the nature of education and educational system, the scope of social cohesion and harmony, etc. Considering only means of existence or directly observing the type of life people lead constitutes a real difference.1 These observations and findings reveal a contrast between the approaches based on utility and resources and the approach based on capabilities, of which the initiator is Amartya Sen (Nobel Prize of economics in 1998). The capabilities approach, therefore, attempts to put things right by focusing on the possibility of effective ends concrete freedom of attaining reasoned ends, rather than focusing on means. The present paper falls into two parts. The first part will try to highlight the imperfection of traditional monetary indicators as well as the difficulties to measure the different dimensions of poverty, particularly in emerging countries, such as Morocco. We argue that poverty is not merely an idea of inadequacy of economic means of an individual, but rather a fundamental shortage that deprivation entails minimum adequate capability. The second part deals with a reorientation towards capabilities in order to explain the extent to which the latter (the capabilities approach) could serve as a basis for the assessment of the level of deprivation and not that of resources, which focuses on income and wealth

A Geo-Economic Approach to Brain Drain in Morocco

The brain drain is a symptom of a more serious disease that plagues the Moroccan policy of training and scientific research. The “brain drain” phenomenon is not novel and dates back to 1950. At that time, the term meant the massive departures of British scientists and engineers to the United States. Then, it referred to the South-North scientists’ migration and since recently scientists’ emigration from the East. Now this term is used in a broader sense to refer to the flight of human capital (that is to say, highly educated individuals with a university degree or equivalent) from the developing countries to the industrialized countries. Over the past two decades, the magnitude of the brain drain has reached staggering proportions. It is however clear that the extent of the brain drain has increased dramatically since the seventies. This is due in part to the introduction of selective immigration policies favoring skilled workers in most countries. Yet, the skilled labor migration contributes essentially to the increasing globalization of the economy, a globalization that reinforces the natural tendency of human capital to agglomerate where it is already abundant. In this article, we aim to explore some positive aspects of the “Brain Drain”. In fact, we will show that, in principle, a brain drain gain can at least rhyme with positive feedback for the country of origin. We will show through empirical analysis that the migration of skilled labor from a country can play a potential role in the pace of development of the latter and can be a source of positive externalities, and that through two channels. The first is related to the acquisition of additional skills and the increase in the ex-ante level of education. The second is related to the “brain gain” thanks to a compensation in terms of migrants’ return and the technology transfer that ensues. This article will aim to answer three major questions: - What are the determinants of skilled labor departure in Morocco? - Is there a link between the perspective of emigrating to a more developed country and the accumulation of human capital in Morocco? - Why these skilled migrants return and what is their role in the development of the country of origin? This article will present the determinants of departure and causes of return of the skilled migration in Morocco, analyze the issues raised by this migration and define the channels that mitigate its negative impact

RETHINKING POVERTY ANALYSIS, TOWARDS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH TO DEPRIVATION

RETHINKING POVERTY ANALYSIS, TOWARDS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL APPROACH TO DEPRIVATION Abdelhamid Nechad, Professor at Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Morocco Associate Professor at ESCA Casablanca ABSTRACT Inventors of quantitative estimation of national income, which received much attention, attempted to explain that their ultimate and main interest was the wealth of human existence, although what impressed were their indices, rather than their motivations. Yet, such deep and underlying motivation has often been ignored in economic analysis where means of existence are the center and fruit of research. It is, however, important not to confuse the means and ends. Therefore, one should not focus on the intrinsic importance of income, but rather assess it depending on what it builds, particularly lives that are worthy of living. Having a decent income helps to avoid early death. Such an enterprise depends also on other characteristics, namely the organization of society, including public health, medical care, the nature of education and educational system, the scope of social cohesion and harmony, etc. Considering only means of existence or directly observing the type of life people lead constitutes a real difference.1 These observations and findings reveal a contrast between the approaches based on utility and resources and the approach based on capabilities, of which the initiator is Amartya Sen (Nobel Prize of economics in 1998). The capabilities approach, therefore, attempts to put things right by focusing on the possibility of effective ends concrete freedom of attaining reasoned ends, rather than focusing on means. The present paper falls into two parts. The first part will try to highlight the imperfection of traditional monetary indicators as well as the difficulties to measure the different dimensions of poverty, particularly in emerging countries, such as Morocco. We argue that poverty is not merely an idea of inadequacy of economic means of an individual, but rather a fundamental shortage that deprivation entails minimum adequate capability. The second part deals with a reorientation towards capabilities in order to explain the extent to which the latter (the capabilities approach) could serve as a basis for the assessment of the level of deprivation and not that of resources, which focuses on income and wealth

Contribution à l’étude du cycle de reproduction de Gammarus marmouchensis Fadil, 2006 (Crustacés, Amphipodes) dans la source Tataw (Moyen Atlas, Maroc)

Gammarus marmouchensis Fadil, 2006, une espèce endémique du maroc qui vit exclusivement dans la source Tataw près d'Imouzzer Marmoucha au Maroc, la bibliographie, ne nous fournit qu'une indication concernant cette espèce patrimoniale, et on ne dispose pas de données concernant son écologie et son cycle de développement. C’est dans cette perspective que s’inscrit notre travail de recherche qui consiste à étudier les paramètres régissant le cycle de reproduction. Pour cela, un relevé mensuel de la faune benthique a été effectué durant un an, toutes les 4 semaines, soit un total de 12 mois d’échantillonnage, permettant de couvrir un cycle annuel. Parallèlement à ces relevés biologiques, des prélèvements des échantillons d'eau destinés aux analyses physicochimiques et bactériologiques ont était faits durant l’année de l’étude aux mêmes endroits d'échantillonnage afin d’avoir précisément l’évolution de ces paramètres dans le temps et de contrôler leur synchronisme avec le cycle biologique G. marmouchensisDe diverses indications analytiques, on peut déduire que les paramètres biologiques étudiés évoluent indépendamment des caractéristiques physicochimiques et bactériologiques du milieu mis à part la température, aussi, l'examen des courbes obtenues montre que différentes générations de G. marmouchensis se chevauchent dans la source Tataw à Immouzzer Marmoucha. Cette espèce présente une activité reproductrice continue, la sex-ratio est à égalité, la taille moyenne est minimale au hiver et maximale en été, l'évolution de la structure d’âge et de la taille semble être régie par les mêmes causes ; l'activité sexuelle est intense en été, le maximum est atteint au printemps. Etant donné les faibles écarts de température, les facteurs déterminant le cycle de reproduction de G. marmouchensis ne pourront être que, soit le changement de la photopériode avec ses conséquences, soit les variations du débit alimentaire, soit les deux ensembles.Mots-clés : Gammarus marmouchensis, cycle biologique, Immouzer marmoucha, Maroc

Calibration and validation of a generic multisensor algorithm for mapping of turbidity in coastal waters

Turbidity, as defined in the standard ISO7027, is a parameter that is routinely measured in many national and regional water quality monitoring programmes. The definition of turbidity according to ISO and as related to satellite data products is discussed. While satellite data products are beginning to become available for the closely related parameter, Total Suspended Matter (TSM), the direct estimation of turbidity as a satellite data product has not yet been addressed. In situ measurements of TSM and of turbidity, obtained in the Southern North Sea (SNS), show high correlation (correlation coefficient of 98.6%). A generic multisensor algorithm for TSM as function of reflectance has been previously developed. The methodology is extended here to the estimation of turbidity from water-leaving reflectance. A set of 49 seaborne measurements of reflectance in the spectral range 600-850nm and turbidity in the SNS are used to calibrate the algorithm. The algorithm is also calibrated for the specific bands of MERIS. Validation of these models is carried out using an independent set of seaborne measurements of turbidity and reflectance and shows low relative errors in turbidity retrieval at 681nm (less than 35%). This wavelength is recommended, provided no significant fluorescence affects this range

An estimate of the suspended particulate matter (SPM) transport in the southern North Sea using SeaWiFS images, in situ measurements and numerical model results

A study is presented where satellite images (SeaWiFS), in situ measurements (tidal cycle and snapshot) and a 2D hydrodynamic numerical model have been combined to calculate the long term SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) transport through the Dover Strait and in the southern North Sea. The total amount of SPM supplied to the North Sea through the Dover Strait is estimated to be 31.74 x 106 t. The satellite images provide synoptic views of SPM concentration distribution but do not take away the uncertainty of SPM transport calculation. This is due to the fact that SPM concentration varies as a function of tide, wind, spring-neap tidal cycles and seasons. The short term variations (tidal, spring-neap tidal cycle) have not been found in the satellite images, however seasonal variations are clearly visible. Furthermore the SPM concentration in the satellite images is generally lower than in the in situ measurements. The representativness of SPM concentration maps derived from satellites for calculating long term transports has therefore been investigated by comparing the SPM concentration variability from the in situ measurements with those of the remote sensing data. The most important constraints of satellite images are related to the fact that satellite data is evidence of clear sky conditions, whereas in situ measurements from a vessel can be carried out also during rougher meteorological conditions and that due to the too low time resolution of the satellite images the SPM concentration peaks are often missed. It is underlined that SPM concentration measurements should be carried out during at least one tidal cycle in high turbidity areas to obtain representative values of SPM concentration