Political stability and economic growth in developing economies: lessons from Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt ten years after the Arab Spring

Abstract

In 2011, the Arab region has seen an unprecedented popular uprising commonly referred to as the "Arab Spring". The objective of this paper is to analyze the economic performance and institutional changes that have taken place in Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco following the Arab Spring, and understand the interconnect between the socio-political context on the one side, and economic performance and growth on the other side, in a period marked by severe turbulences, especially in Tunisia and Egypt. The analysis covers the economic, institutional, competitiveness, business environment, infrastructural, and human capital aspects in the three countries. It is based on the author's own research and knowledge of the region, the recent emerging literature on the topic, newspaper archives, and the publicly available economic and business data and reports provided by international organizations. Our analysis shows that Tunisia, the country that has ignited the Arab Spring, was the one most hit by its aftermath on the economic, social, and institutional levels. We argue that, although pure authoritarian regimes were historically a failure in the region, "Western" democracy has so far shown several limits when applied into the Arab region context as it led to neither socio-political stability nor economic growth.

Harmony of Sacred Numbers Functions in the Works of Belles-Lettres from Islamic Perspective

“…In addition, the image of the quarter moon was put on the face of the deceased person in order to understand that he is the most intelligent, dignified creature in the world. 28,29 Indeed, under such harmony, one can see that there is a connection with the law of creation. It is also based on the fact that the week consists of seven days.…”

Promoting Case-Based Learning in Business Higher Education in the Middle East and North Africa Region

“…Like everywhere else, employers in the region are more than ever requiring their employees to take responsibility and accountability for their actions, to cope with rapid changes and show tolerance to ambiguity, to think, analyze, and generate creative solutions to non-routine problems. These requirements have been further accentuated in recent years, especially following the rising levels of political instability and socio-economic turmoil, resulting from the “Arab Spring” uprisings and their aftermaths in the region (Becheikh, 2021). Consequently, it is more urgent than ever for higher education institutions, especially in the business discipline, to rethink the currently predominant lecture-based teaching approach where students are passive learners attending school to know the “right” answers from their professors, and shift gradually toward student-centered learning approaches where students are actively engaged in the learning process, assume responsibility for their learning, and are stimulated to think creatively and critically to find alternative solutions to complex problems (Golladay et al, 1995; Heyneman, 1997).…”

“…This reflects a true paradox in a region where most higher education institutions are striving to find ways to overcome the entrenched “teaching-to-the-test” approach, which focuses on rote memorization and neglects critical thinking and problem-solving skills (Assaad et al, 2016). Embracing the case method offers an opportunity for higher education institutions in MENA to rise up to a major challenge the region is facing: producing a mix of educational outcomes that are compatible with the evolving demands of the labor market, and the region’s aspirations for social, political, and inclusive economic development (Acedo, 2011; Becheikh, 2021).…”

The possibilities and consequences of investment decisions by stepwise optimization

“…Examples of such criteria are liquidity (Al Janabi et al, 2019;Jana et al, 2009;Li & Zhang, 2021), skewness (Kerstens et al, 2008;Konno & Yamamoto, 2005;Pahade & Jha, 2021;Saborido et al, 2016), conditional value at risk (CVaR) (Aboulaich et al, 2010;Najafi & Mushakhian, 2015;Strub et al, 2019). Other scientists also broadly analysed various aspects of stock market and investment (Ogiugo et al, 2020, Dvorsky et al, 2020Masood et al, 2020;Giacomella, 2021;Becheikh, 2021;Zumente & Bistrova, 2021;Sl avik et al, 2021;Kasperovica & Lace, 2021;Nassar & Tvaronavi cien_ e 2021;Mura & Hajduov a, 2021), thus, these topics get proper attention.…”