Politics, Policies and Prospects of the MENA Region

Due to the existing geographical distance between the main consumption and production regions and the resulting significant logistical costs, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market has historically been structured around long-term supply contracts indexed to oil prices. With the recent development of shale gas and sluggish European growth, excess LNG supply now fosters the development of spot markets, particularly in Asia, by nature more flexible and disconnected from oil prices. In ...

The expression “green revolution” is controversial today; yet my own assessment is that, in spite of many valid criticisms, the Green Revolution was a major achievement for humankind: it made erroneous the Malthusian predictions of the 1960s and 70s that it would be impossible to provide enough food for a rapidly growing world population and that major humanitarian crises, including famines, would occur in several countries within a few years, particularly in South Asia. In a wider ...

Q: The U.S. Federal Reserve on Dec. 16 raised interest rates, ending what Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen called an “extraordinary seven-year period” during which policymakers kept the federal funds rate near zero in an effort to support the economy. How will the Fed’s action affect Latin American economies, many of which are struggling with anemic growth and low prices for their commodity exports? How will the interest rate hike affect Latin American countries’ ability to pay off their ...

Brazilian scholarly output has rapidly increased, accompanied by the expansion of domestic collaborations. In this paper, we identify spatial patterns of collaboration in Brazil and measure the role of geographic proximity in determining the interaction among researchers. Using a database comprising more than one million researchers and seven million publications, we consolidated information on interregional research collaboration in terms of scientific coauthorship networks among 4 ...

The economic growth of the African continent and its positioning as an emerging force is a reality no longer questioned. Optimism surrounding the Africa rising narrative is supported by a growing young workforce, an expanding middle class, new discoveries of natural resources and minerals, relative political stability and infrastructure developments. Economic and international financial actors now recognize the potential that the continent represents for the world economy, consider ...

Managing natural resources is a matter of great importance, both politically, socially, environmentally and economically. The subject is, though, vast and varied and sufficiently legitimate to clarify the terms of the debate. Since we cannot obviously claim to present a complete and exhaustive picture, this policy brief sets out to identify some of the substantive issues tied to natural resources, from an economist’s perspective. ...

Global economic growth is likely to be a little better in 2016 than this year’s lackluster outcome. The ongoing slow recovery in the United States and Europe is likely to continue. However, weakness in China as well as several large emerging markets, and sluggishness of world trade, mean that risks are weighted on the downside of this forecast. Morocco, which is reliant on European markets, is a heavy importer of oil, and whose currency has devalued in effective terms, should find t ...