While olive oil production is spreading to the non-traditional producer countries, including the US, Australia, and New Zealand, Mediterranean countries are still major producers and exporters. However, little is known about their olive oil exports simultaneously growing in tandem with their large volume of imports. This paper examines the factors that affect olive oil exports and imports in Mediterranean countries. Using balanced panel data of olive oil trade in Mediterranean countries from 1998 to 2016, we estimated the commodity-specific gravity model. Results suggest that an increase in the overall bilateral size of trading partners positively affects the flow of olive oil trade. The difference in factor endowments has a negative impact on exports, whereas its effect is positive on their imports. The members of the European Union (EU) are competitive in olive oil export, and the volume of its import is large among the EU countries whose per capita income and demand properties are similar. These results support Linder’s hypothesis rather than the predictions from the traditional Heckscher–Ohlin trade theory. The simultaneous export and import of olive oil in Mediterranean countries implies the relevance of a growing intra-industry trade rather than a country’s specialization following its comparative advantage.

Groundwater resources became a recognized enabler of important rural and socio-economic development in Mediterranean countries. However, the development of this groundwater economy is currently associated with an increased pressure on the available resource and negative implications on the socio-ecological system. Managing complex socio-ecological systems, such as those that occur in water resource management, is a multi-actor, multi-scale and dynamic decision-making process. This study aims to build a collective learning and collaborative construction tool through the territory game method. It was implemented in the Haouaria Plain, in Northern Tunisia, where farmers are currently dependent upon groundwater use for their livelihood and food security. After the diagnosis of the territorial issues, the drivers of change and a common spatial representation of the future trend of the territory, we dive into the dimensions that hinder or facilitate the implementation of scenarios and the pathways of actions. Thereafter, we analyzed these dimensions together again and reflect on the interactions among actors at different levels to transform the local territory. From the perspective of evolution scenarios for the Haouaria plain, the participants indicated the conditions that hinder or facilitate their implementation and they proposed twenty-three possible actions to be carried out in order to achieve the desired trends. They indicated how these propositions can be achieved, by whom, and where. The local stakeholders coordinate actors, activities and spaces on their territory. Spaces such as El Garâa basin, littoral forest or food processing companies are at stake to develop an integrated response to territorial issues.

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Despite its natural and archaeological potential and its position on the border with Algeria, the Kasserine governorate remains economically and socially disadvantaged, despite some progress made since independence. Since 2012, this governorate has been ranked last in socio-economic development. Indeed, this area recorded a regional development index of 0.16 against 0.50 for Médenine, 0.69 for Ariana and 0.76 for Tunis.