IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/erg/wpaper/1319.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Between Stabilization and Allocation in the MENA Region: Are Competition Laws Helping?

Author

Listed:
  • Jala Youssef

    (World Bank, Cairo Office)

  • Chahir Zaki

    (Department of Economics and Director of the French Section, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University)

Abstract

In the 1990s, many MENA countries relied on adjustment and stabilization programs offered by international organizations. Surprisingly, these programs implicitly implied an orientation towards a market economy structure without an explicit adoption of competition laws. This in turn raises questions on the extent to which these programs help adjusting structural and allocation issues in the beneficiaries’ economies or rather only focuses on adjusting macroeconomic imbalances. To our knowledge, there is no study assessing the macroeconomic outcomes of competition laws in the latter. Against this backdrop, our main objective is to empirically assess the impact of competition laws in the MENA region on economic growth. Our contribution is threefold: first, we create indices to assess the effectiveness of MENA countries competition laws using Youssef and Zaki (2019) methodology. Second, we disentangle the effect of competition laws on growth by distinguishing between the structural and the cyclical components of GDP growth. Third, we control for the endogeneity of the competition law adoption. Our main findings show that in general, the overall assessment of MENA countries competition legislations seems to be broadly average with the Maltese and the Algerian legislations the best performers among the group while the Iraqi and the Yemeni legislations are the weakest. Advocacy seems to be an area of weakness. As per the effect of competition policy rules on economic growth in MENA countries, competition measures exert a positive and statistically significant effect on the growth of the trend component of GDP, while its effects on the cyclical component is rather insignificant.

Suggested Citation

  • Jala Youssef & Chahir Zaki, 2019. "Between Stabilization and Allocation in the MENA Region: Are Competition Laws Helping?," Working Papers 1319, Economic Research Forum, revised 21 Aug 2019.
    • Handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:1319
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://erf.org.eg/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/1319.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://bit.ly/33PxHdQ
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrei Shleifer & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Rafael La Porta, 2008. "The Economic Consequences of Legal Origins," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(2), pages 285-332, June.
    2. Wendy Carlin & Steven Fries & Mark Schaffer & Paul Seabright, 2001. "Competition and Enterprise Performance in Transition Economies from a Cross-Country Survey," CERT Discussion Papers 0101, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
    3. Paolo Buccirossi & Lorenzo Ciari & Tomaso Duso & Giancarlo Spagnolo & Cristiana Vitale, 2013. "Competition Policy and Productivity Growth: An Empirical Assessment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1324-1336, October.
    4. Aizenman, Joshua & Marion, Nancy P, 1993. "Policy Uncertainty, Persistence and Growth," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(2), pages 145-163, June.
    5. Jeffrey D. Sachs & Andrew M. Warner, 1995. "Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth," NBER Working Papers 5398, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Khalid Sekkat, 2009. "Does competition improve productivity in developing countries?," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 145-162.
    7. Hodrick, Robert J & Prescott, Edward C, 1997. "Postwar U.S. Business Cycles: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16, February.
    8. N. Gregory Mankiw & David Romer & David N. Weil, 1992. "A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(2), pages 407-437.
    9. Jarig Sinderen & Ron Kemp, 2008. "The Economic Effect Of Competition Law Enforcement: The Case Of The Netherlands," De Economist, Springer, vol. 156(4), pages 365-385, December.
    10. Nesreen Barakat, 2012. "Arab Passengers’ Airlines Framework and Performance: Jordan Case," Working Papers 727, Economic Research Forum, revised 2012.
    11. Harrigan, Jane & Wang, Chengang & El-Said, Hamed, 2006. "The economic and political determinants of IMF and world bank lending in the Middle East and North Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 247-270, February.
    12. Dutz, Mark & Hayri, Aydin, 1999. "Does More Intense Competition Lead to Higher Growth?," CEPR Discussion Papers 2249, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Sam Hakim & Simon Neaime, 2011. "An Analysis of the Mobile Telephone Sector in MENA: Potential for Deregulation and Privatization," Working Papers 649, Economic Research Forum, revised 12 Jan 2011.
    14. Daron Acemoglu & Francisco A. Gallego & James A. Robinson, 2014. "Institutions, Human Capital, and Development ," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 875-912, August.
    15. Stefan Voigt, 2009. "The Effects of Competition Policy on Development - Cross-Country Evidence Using Four New Indicators," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(8), pages 1225-1248.
    16. Josefa Monteagudo & Aleksander Rutkowski & Dimitri Lorenzani, 2012. "The economic impact of the Services Directive: A first assessment following implementation," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 456, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    17. Jay Squalli, 2012. "The Performance of the Airline Passenger Market in the United Arab Emirates," Working Papers 724, Economic Research Forum, revised 2012.
    18. Carlin, Wendy & Fries, Steven & Schaffer, Mark & Seabright, Paul, 2001. "Competition and Enterprise Performance in Transition Economies: Evidence from a Cross-country Survey," CEPR Discussion Papers 2840, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Karam, Fida & Zaki, Chahir, 2015. "Trade volume and economic growth in the MENA region: Goods or services?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 22-37.
    20. Brahim Morchid & Khalid Sekkat, 2012. "Moroccan Passenger Airlines Framework and Performance," Working Papers 725, Economic Research Forum, revised 2012.
    21. Niels Petersen, 2013. "Antitrust Law And The Promotion Of Democracy And Economic Growth," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(3), pages 593-636.
    22. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jala Youssef & Chahir Zaki, 2019. "A Decade of Competition Policy in Arab Countries: A De jure and De facto Assessment," Working Papers 1301, Economic Research Forum, revised 2019.
    2. Majah-Leah V. Ravago & James A. Roumasset & Arsenio M. Balisacan, 2021. "Adapting Competition Law and Policy for Economic Development with Asian Illustrations," Department of Economics, Ateneo de Manila University, Working Paper Series 202103, Department of Economics, Ateneo de Manila University.
    3. Rok Spruk & Mitja Kovac, 2018. "Inefficient Growth," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 9(2).
    4. Oleg Badunenko & Daniel Henderson & Romain Houssa, 2014. "Significant drivers of growth in Africa," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 42(3), pages 339-354, December.
    5. Edward Barbier, 1999. "Endogenous Growth and Natural Resource Scarcity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 14(1), pages 51-74, July.
    6. Turnovsky, S., 2000. "Growth in an Open Economy: some Recent Developments," Papers 5, Warwick - Development Economics Research Centre.
    7. Glawe, Linda & Wagner, Helmut, 2020. "China in the middle-income trap?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    8. Andrea F Presbitero, 2012. "Total Public Debt and Growth in Developing Countries," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 24(4), pages 606-626, September.
    9. Simplice A. Asongu, 2017. "Knowledge Economy Gaps, Policy Syndromes, and Catch-Up Strategies: Fresh South Korean Lessons to Africa," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(1), pages 211-253, March.
    10. Clovis Wendji Miamo & Elvis Dze Achuo, 2022. "Can the resource curse be avoided? An empirical examination of the nexus between crude oil price and economic growth," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, January.
    11. Mohammed Shuaibu & Popoola Timothy Oladayo, 2016. "Determinants Of Human Capital Development In Africa: A Panel Data Analysis," Oeconomia Copernicana, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 7(4), pages 523-549, December.
    12. Cavallaro, Eleonora & Villani, Ilaria, 2021. "Real income convergence and the patterns of financial integration in the EU," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    13. Madsen, Jakob B. & Raschky, Paul A. & Skali, Ahmed, 2015. "Does democracy drive income in the world, 1500–2000?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 175-195.
    14. Lee, Jim, 2011. "Export specialization and economic growth around the world," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 45-63, March.
    15. Jeffrey D. Sachs & Andrew Warner, 1995. "Economic Reform and the Process of Global Integration," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 26(1, 25th A), pages 1-118.
    16. Andreyeva Tatiana, 2003. "Company Performance in Ukraine: What Governs its Success," EERC Working Paper Series 03-01e, EERC Research Network, Russia and CIS.
    17. Koopman, Eline & Wacker, Konstantin M., 2023. "Drivers of growth accelerations: What role for capital accumulation?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    18. Amavilah, Voxi Heinrich, 2018. "Endogenous constraints, coefficients of economic distance, and economic performance of African countries – An exploratory essay," MPRA Paper 90065, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Nicola Gennaioli & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2013. "Human Capital and Regional Development," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(1), pages 105-164.
    20. Samà, Danilo, 2014. "Essays on economic analysis of competition law: theory and practice," MPRA Paper 103118, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:1319. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sherine Ghoneim (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/erfaceg.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.