- Middle East Economicsedit
The rapid developments of recent years have drastically altered the political and economic landscapes of most countries in the Levant. Faced with a myriad of challenges, the (re)construction of a regional order in the region remains a... more
The rapid developments of recent years have drastically altered the political and economic landscapes of most countries in the Levant. Faced with a myriad of challenges, the (re)construction of a regional order in the region remains a highly complex and difficult proposition, one with, according to many observers, slim chances for success. This book explores various issues that would limit or encourage the efforts for reconstructing a regional order for the Levant.
Research Interests: Demography, Security, Water resources, American Foreign Policy, Lebanon, and 15 moreRussian Foreign Policy, Turkish and Middle East Studies, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Turkish Foreign Policy, Regional Integration, Israel, Middle East, Iranian Foreign Policy, Energy Resources, Middle Eastern Economy, The Levant, and Sectereianism
In this study we investigate the educational attainment of the labour force in the United States. Our data analysis, based on Bureau of Labour Statistics data in more than 700 occupations, produced two important findings. First, we... more
In this study we investigate the educational attainment of the labour force in the United States. Our data analysis, based on Bureau of Labour Statistics data in more than 700 occupations, produced two important findings. First, we observed that the Overeducation Ratio (share of employees that are overeducated), which began to rise in the United States as early as 1970, continued its positive trend in many occupations during 2002–2016. Second, our regression analysis revealed a positive correlation between the overeducation ratio and the median earnings of an occupation. Since a larger overeducation ratio implies that a larger share of adequately educated individuals are crowded out, this result suggests that the displacement of adequately educated individuals is more severe in better paying occupations. Third, we analysed the overflow of graduate degree holders into occupations that require a bachelor’s degree. We observe that graduate degree holders are crowding out the bachelor’s...
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Over the past two decades, China has emerged as one of the largest trade and investment partners of each of the eight states that border the Persian Gulf. This has occurred despite conflicts and diplomatic tensions among those states,... more
Over the past two decades, China has emerged as one of the largest trade and investment partners of each of the eight states that border the Persian Gulf. This has occurred despite conflicts and diplomatic tensions among those states, such as the rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the ongoing dispute between Qatar and both Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Moreover, China’s economic and diplomatic ties in the Gulf have rapidly expanded even though seven of the eight Gulf states are heavily dependent on the United States for their external security. Yet, China so far has largely avoided being drawn deeply into the complex politics of the region.
On May 29, 2019, officials from 57 predominantly Muslim countries gathered in Mecca for the 14 Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). During this summit, the chairmanship of the OIC officially passed from Turkey to Saudi... more
On May 29, 2019, officials from 57 predominantly Muslim countries gathered in Mecca for the 14 Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). During this summit, the chairmanship of the OIC officially passed from Turkey to Saudi Arabia. Under normal circumstances, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey would not have missed this important occasion, but in light of recent diplomatic tensions, he decided to skip it. Instead, he sent Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, to take part in the handover of the OIC chairmanship.
Purpose Most Middle Eastern countries suffer from high rates of unemployment and underemployment among university graduates. This condition is known as overeducation and it is observed in many countries around the world. Two countries,... more
Purpose Most Middle Eastern countries suffer from high rates of unemployment and underemployment among university graduates. This condition is known as overeducation and it is observed in many countries around the world. Two countries, Singapore and Hong Kong, have been able to prevent overeducation. The purpose of this paper is to identify political and institutional factors that have allowed these two countries to succeed. Design/methodology/approach The author has relied on published government documents, online short articles and academic publications to collect evidence on higher education policies in Hong Kong and Singapore. The author has also received some valuable insight by e-mail communication with scholars and some government institutions in these countries. In addition, the author has generated tables and charts based on official government statistics from both countries to show the trends in higher education and the labor market outcomes for university graduates. Findi...
This article examines the politics of development and security in Iran’s border provinces from the 1979 revolution to the present day. We argue that there has been a narrowing division of labor between the government bureaucracy and... more
This article examines the politics of development and security in Iran’s border provinces from the 1979 revolution to the present day. We argue that there has been a narrowing division of labor between the government bureaucracy and security services regarding development and counterinsurgency in the border provinces. Since 2013, this outcome has created both cooperation and competition between the president and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in their efforts to improve development and security in these provinces.
Research Interests: Development Economics, Development Studies, Border Studies, International Security, Security, and 15 moreSustainable Development, Iranian Studies, Security Studies, History of Iran, Rural Development, Iranian History, Multidisciplinary, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, Borders, Jihad, Borders and Frontiers, Borders and Borderlands, Ethnicity and Developmnet, Hassan Rouhani, and IRGC
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to estimate the wage difference between overeducated and adequately educated workers in a sample of semi-skilled and low-skill occupations in Iran’s labor market. The objective is to see if... more
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to estimate the wage difference between overeducated and adequately educated workers in a sample of semi-skilled and low-skill occupations in Iran’s labor market. The objective is to see if overeducated employees in these occupations enjoy higher wages in comparison to their adequately educated co-workers. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the propensity score matching (PSM) model to estimate the wage difference between overeducated and adequately educated workers in a sample of semi-skilled and low-skill occupations in Iran’s labor market. The PSM method allows the authors to prevent selection bias by comparing each group of overeducated workers with a matched group of adequately educated workers with similar socio-economic characteristics. Findings The results show that in Iran’s labor market, the overeducated workers enjoy a wage premium in the range of 10-25 percent for their excess education when they have to work in semi- or low-s...
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... 221) reports that in south Asia education raises the transaction value of women in marriage. 15. Thomas E. Fricke and Syed H. Sabiha, "Rural Punjabi Social Organi-zation and Marriage Timing Strategies in Pakistan,"... more
... 221) reports that in south Asia education raises the transaction value of women in marriage. 15. Thomas E. Fricke and Syed H. Sabiha, "Rural Punjabi Social Organi-zation and Marriage Timing Strategies in Pakistan," Demography 23, no. 4 (November 1986): 489-508. 16. ...
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ABSTRACT
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ABSTRACT
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Using three quantitative measures of Central Bank independence, we apply OLS and TSLS regression methods to investigate the possible correlation between political liberty, political instability and central bank independence. For a sample... more
Using three quantitative measures of Central Bank independence, we apply OLS and TSLS regression methods to investigate the possible correlation between political liberty, political instability and central bank independence. For a sample of Western democracies and highly democratic developing countries we show that Cukierman's legal independence index is positively correlated with political freedom and regime political stability. It is negatively
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... political screening policy in its present shape is a post-revolutionary phenomenon which is rooted in the socio-political conditions of Iran during and ... Soon after, the strategic unity of the various factions that had joined forces... more
... political screening policy in its present shape is a post-revolutionary phenomenon which is rooted in the socio-political conditions of Iran during and ... Soon after, the strategic unity of the various factions that had joined forces during the revolution gave way to factional ...
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One of the most important ways that the members of a society express their cultural preferences is through the names they select for their children. Whether it is made by the elder members of the extended family or the parents of the... more
One of the most important ways that the members of a society express their cultural preferences is through the names they select for their children. Whether it is made by the elder members of the extended family or the parents of the child, there is no doubt that the choice reveals something about the attitudes and values of the selectors through the name's origins and meaning.In societies that enjoy a multilinguistic heritage, first names can be divided into categories according to their linguistic origins. This phenomenon is most visible in societies with long histories of encounters among various cultures. One such society is Iran, whose pre-Islamic Persian culture combined with the culture that was introduced by Muslim Arabs after they entered Iran on a religious crusade in the 7th century. While the Arab conquest did not cause the Persian language to be replaced by Arabic, its impact was nevertheless permanent in the thousands of Arabic words that entered into Persian along...
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... 221) reports that in south Asia education raises the transaction value of women in marriage. 15. Thomas E. Fricke and Syed H. Sabiha, "Rural Punjabi Social Organi-zation and Marriage Timing Strategies in Pakistan,"... more
... 221) reports that in south Asia education raises the transaction value of women in marriage. 15. Thomas E. Fricke and Syed H. Sabiha, "Rural Punjabi Social Organi-zation and Marriage Timing Strategies in Pakistan," Demography 23, no. 4 (November 1986): 489-508. 16. ...