This paper examines the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on economic growth in two different regions: Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The main findings of our analysis suggest that FDI has a positive effect on growth only in EU accession countries while the effect of FDI on growth in MENA and non-EU accession countries is negative. Candidacy to EU membership is considered as a driving force for stronger commitment and more serious reforms that may have led to the positive effect of FDI on growth.

This paper examines the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on manufacturing exports in four Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. The sensitivity of merchandise exports, manufacturing exports, and the share of manufacturing exports in total merchandise exports to two measures of FDI activity is tested using panel data spanning 1975-2003. The findings suggest that FDI activity positively affects the host country's merchandise and manufacturing exports. Nevertheless, FDI activity is still short of generating any increase in the share of manufacturing exports in merchandise exports.

This article tests the asymmetric information hypothesis using the CPI inflation forecasts of the Federal Reserve and consumers for the volatile inflationary period of 1979-1983. The Fed generally over-predicted inflation, but consumers produced unbiased forecasts with superior predictive content. In fighting inflation, the Fed was, perhaps, cautious by assigning much cost to under-predictions, but little or no cost to over-predictions. Under such an asymmetric loss function, the bias in the Federal Reserve forecast of inflation appears to be rational. However, this explanation, while plausible, cannot be substantiated from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) transcripts.

This paper explores the economic writings of Ibn Taimiyah, particularly his views on the economic role of the state. In so doing, it offers some explanations to the “great gap” puzzle posed by Schumpeter, and introduces the reader to a model of the medieval Arab and Islamic economic thoughts.

No abstract