THE IMPACT OF PRICES ON SEAFOOD TRADE: A PANEL DATA ANALYSIS OF THE FRENCH SEAFOOD MARKET

In the early 1990s, two major crises affected the French fish market. Low import prices were suspected to have affected import levels of fish. Therefore, this paper looks at the empirical economic factors of fish imports in France. Most economic papers related to this field use a demand function of imports for a single product and focus only on trade relations between two countries. In this research, a panel data trade model is used at the multilateral level with many trade partners and products over several years. Results are presented by product groups at both aggregated and disaggregated levels. French imports appear to be very sensitive to internal price competitiveness and nominal exchange rates, with a differentiated impact according to the degree of processing. From that model, simulations show the consequences of the implementation of a single European currency on seafood trade.International Relations/Trade, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Sustainable Tourism in Some MENA Countries

According to UNWFTO, 20% of world tourism is concentrated in Mediterranean countries. The wealth in natural resources of the Mediterranean coastline (beautiful landscape, climate favorable for tourism, important biodiversity, etc…) makes it the first world touristic destination. The development of the tourism sector has permitted economics gains, especially for economies on the North side of the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless tourism also has harmful effects such as deterioration of the environment. According to the Plan Bleu, in 2000, 40% of the 46 000 Km of the Mediterranean coastline are artificial and urbanized. This situation is not sustainable because the increases in touristic demand apply pressure on natural resources so that there is a risk for economic activities based on tourism. Indeed tourism depends on the environment; degradation of the natural resources has negative effects on touristic arrivals and then in revenues produced by tourism. That’s why Mediterranean economies need a tourism development strategy combining economic development and preservation of the environment. Our article aims at analyzing the different effects of ecotourism in terms of revenues and employment in order to answer the following question: Can the development of ecotourism be a credible and sustainable development strategy for Mediterranean countries

Shallow versus Deep Integration between Mediterranean Countries and the EU and within the Mediterranean Region

The paper aims at assessing the specific impact of shallow versus deep integration between Mediterranean (MED) countries1 and their partners in the European Union (EU) as well as between the MED countries themselves. It relies on dataset developed for this project concerning tariffs (as a proxy for shallow integration) and Non Tariff Measures (NTMs)2 (as a proxy for deep integration). Additional data are also included in order to take into account other trade costs, especially transport costs and logistics costs. In this regard, an original dataset of maritime freight cost (Maersk, 2007) is introduced as well as the trade logistics performance (TLP) index produced by the World Bank. Such datasets are useful for providing additional insight into deep integration. The paper starts by calculating the magnitude of NTMs in terms of ad valorem tariff equivalent (AVEs). The estimation of NTMs through ad valorem equivalents (AVEs) shows that Algeria and Jordan have the highest value of AVEs, whereas Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt have the lowest value. A gravity model is then estimated with special emphasis on trade costs which are the crucial point in our research study. Given the limitation of data on NTMs, the gravity model is estimated for only one year (2001), and for each MED country. Trade costs are represented by tariffs, AVEs of NTMs, and transport and logistics costs. The idea is to test which of the three elements of trade costs are the most impeding to bilateral trade between MED countries and EU countries as well as amongst MED countries. The model shows that tariffs, NTMs, and trade and logistics costs have a significant impact on trade, but is highly vivid in countries suffering from high tariff rates, prevalence of NTMs, and trade costs. A number of simulations are carried out trying to differentiate between the impact of partial liberalization and full liberalization on trade creation. The results obtained show that full liberalization has a significant effect whether it is only related to shallow integration (tariff removal) or deep integration (NTMs and trade and logistics). The effect is higher if trade costs and logistics are improved. The results are far less if only partial liberalization takes place and in several countries is insignificant implying that marginal reductions in NTMs or tariffs cannot always help to create trade. Finally the study shows that there is a huge potential for enhancing trade amongst MED countries if trade costs are lowered, logistics is improved, and NTMs are abolished.Regional Trade Agreements, Regional Integration, Non-Tariff-Measures, Deep versus shallow integration, South Mediterranean countries, European Union Trade Agreements

Taking into Account Sustainable Development for MENA Countries: The Calculation of a Modified HDI Index

GDP, a measure of economic welfare, may be supplemented with other measures of economic welfare and environmental sustainability. This article discusses alternative measures which have been proposed in the literature concerning pollution, which can be used to augment GDP as a measure of welfare to produce a better index

North African countries (NACs) production and export structure: Towards diversification and export sophistication strategy

The North African countries (NACs) production and export structure is suffering from double constraints: insufficient diversification along with excessively weak sophistication. This study establish a deeper link between diversification/sophistication on and growth in the NACs. The study assesses the impact of these variables on the growth of these countries so as to verify whether the current export structure is indeed a constraint to the economic development. The approach used consists in estimating a growth model as a Barro's regression (conditional -convergence model) using panel data. The paper identify the factors determining diversification and sophistication of exports so as to find the various levers and actions which would firstly allow NACs to diversify their exports to higher added value products and secondly to take the existing products to a higher level of sophistication. The last part of this study proposes recommendations in terms of economic policies based on obtained results, highlighting the role of various stakeholders, and different policies

North African countries (NACs) production and export structure: Towards diversification and export sophistication strategy

The North African countries (NACs) production and export structure is suffering from double constraints: insufficient diversification along with excessively weak sophistication. This study establish a deeper link between diversification/sophistication on and growth in the NACs. The study assesses the impact of these variables on the growth of these countries so as to verify whether the current export structure is indeed a constraint to the economic development. The approach used consists in estimating a growth model as a Barro's regression (conditional -convergence model) using panel data. The paper identify the factors determining diversification and sophistication of exports so as to find the various levers and actions which would firstly allow NACs to diversify their exports to higher added value products and secondly to take the existing products to a higher level of sophistication. The last part of this study proposes recommendations in terms of economic policies based on obtained results, highlighting the role of various stakeholders, and different policies

Shallow vs. Deep Integration in the Southern Mediterranean: Scenarios for the region up to 2030. MEDPRO Technical Report No. 13/March 2012

This research develops a quantitative analysis aimed at simulating the trade effects of various integration scenarios between the EU and its Mediterranean Partners (MPs). Results for shallow integration show that the completion of tariff removal is expected to produce limited gains, except in Algeria. However, further steps toward deep integration would lead to much more significant gains. In this regard, the elimination of non-tariff barriers is expected to increase EU exports to MPs up to 60%. In addition, MPs’ imports and exports to the EU could also considerably increase due to an improvement of logistics performance in these countries

An appraisal of the impact of EEC preferential tariff policy on Morocco's export performance through the application of temporal cross-sectional generalized gravity models : a comparison with Tunisia

Defence date: 27 September 1991Examining board: Dr. Armindo P. Da Silva, Technical University of Lisbon and European Commission ; Prof. Jean-Pierre Gourlaouen, University of Nantes ; Prof. Stuart Holland, EUI, supervisor ; Prof. Henri Regnault, University of Pau ; Prof. George Yannopoulos, University of Reading, Co-supervisorPDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 201