Trade Competitiveness of the Middle East and North Africa: Policies for Export Diversification

by José R. López-Cálix, Peter Walkenhorst, Ndiame Diop

Overview

Over the past decade, four major developments in global economic integration have shaped trade policy and the economic performance of countries within the Middle East and North Africa region: the emergence of global supply chains, the growth of trade in services, the rise of China and India as major international trading powers, and regional integration. These developments, along with the labor and natural resource endowments of particular countries (some are resource-poor but labor-abundant, some resource-rich and labor-abundant, and some resource-rich and labor-importing), have influenced export diversification outcomes across the region. Yet these countries may not be taking full advantage of all of the opportunities the four new trends offer to them. 'Trade Competitiveness of the Middle East and North Africa: Policies for Export Diversification' examines the region's trade policy agendas and their results by focusing on the countries' response to these four key developments in international trade. As the region recovers from the global financial and economic crises, the book identifies reforms that could allow countries to further strengthen global production networks, benefit more from trade in services, better compete in external markets to face the rise of China and India, and reach the full potential of regional integration. If thoroughly implemented, especially by oil exporters, all of these reforms could help boost growth and job creation in the region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780821380758
Publisher:	World Bank Publications
Publication date:	06/15/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	6 MB

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xix

Contributors xxi

Chapter 1 Trade Reforms for Export Competitiveness: What Are the Issues for the Middle East and North Africa? Ndiamé Diop José R. López-Cálix Peter Walkenhorst 1

Export Diversification 3

Services Trade 5

Relations with China and India 6

Regional Integration 8

Note 9

References 9

Part I Export Diversification

Chapter 2 FDI Flows and Export Diversification: Looking at Extensive and Intensive Margins Julien Gourdon 13

Export Diversification in the Middle East and North Africa 14

The Potential Impact of FDI on Export Diversification 22

The Model 26

Conclusions 35

Annex 36

Notes 44

References 44

Chapter 3 Promoting New Exports: Experience from Industry Case Studies Claudia Nassif 47

Export Diversification in "Resource-Poor" Countries in the Region 48

Case Studies 51

Designing Proactive Policies to Encourage Experimentation and Imitation 57

Conclusion 60

Notes 61

References 61

Chapter 4 Export Diversification in Algeria Ricardo Hausmann Bailey Klinger José R. López-Cálix 63

The Structure of the Algerian Economy 64

Why Is Algeria So Dependent on Hydrocarbons? 68

Applying a New Methodological Approach to Export Diversification 74

Using the Product Space to Scan the Possibility Space for Algerian Exports 81

Policy Implications of the New Methodology for Industrial Strategy 88

Annex 96

Notes 100

References 101

Part II Services Trade

Chapter 5 Emerging Export Services: Where Does Tunisia Stand? Olivier Cattaneo Ndiamé Diop Peter Walkenhorst 105

Can Emerging Export Services Contribute to Growth and Poverty Reduction? 105

How Has Tunisia Performed in Emerging Export Services? 110

Are Tunisia's Emerging Export Services Internationally Competitive? 117

What Needs to be Done to Strengthen Competitiveness? 124

References 132

Chapter 6 Anchoring Services Reform: The European Neighborhood Policy and Morocco Ndiamé Diop 135

Liberalization Reforms and the Openness of Morocco's Services Sectors 137

The Need to Strengthen the Regulatory Framework 137

Options for Regulatory Convergence with the European Union in Selected Sectors 140

Implementing Competition Policies 155

Notes 157

References 160

Chapter 7 Services Trade as an Engine of Development: Situation and Prospects in Algeria Olivier Cattaneo Said Ighilahriz José R. López-Cálix Peter Walkenhorst 163

Quantifying the Importance of Services for Algeria 163

Trade in Services: An Important but Often Poorly Understood Concept 169

Strengthening the Economy by Bolstering Trade in Services 175

Issues for Policy Makers 185

Notes 187

References 188

Part III Relations with China and India

Chapter 8 Economic Growth in China and India: Challenges and Opportunities for the Middle East and North Africa Elena Ianchovichina Maros Ivanic Will Martin 193

Messages from the Literature 194

Methodology, Data, and Simulation Design 203

Results 206

Concluding Comments 214

Annex 217

Notes 221

References 222

Chapter 9 Globalization and Competition from China and India: Policy Responses in the Middle East and North Africa Paul Brenton Lulu Shui Peter Walkenhorst 227

Globalization and the Export Performance of Countries in the Middle East and North Africa 228

Imports from China and India 239

Gaining Access to Overseas Markets 241

Exploitation of Existing Opportunities for Export Growth 247

Conclusions and Policy Messages 250

Annex: Export Growth and Constant Market Share Analysis 251

Notes 264

References 264

Part IV Regional Integration

Chapter 10 Regional Integration: Status, Developments, and Challenges Lulu Shui Peter Walkenhorst 267

Reasons for the Failure of Past Integration Attempts 269

Open Regionalism 294

References 295

Chapter 11 Economic Gains of Regional Agreements in the Maghreb: Deeper versus Wider Integration Paloma Anos Casero Ganesh Kumar Seshan 299

Some Conceptual Issues 300

Some Methodological Issues 302

Scenarios 303

Conclusions 312

Annex: Methodology 313

Notes 327

References 328

Index 331

Boxes

3.1 How Entrepreneurship Makes a Difference 53

3.2 Spurring Exports in Tunisia through FAMEX 59

5.1 Promoting Exports through a Technology Park 130

6.1 Major Directives Governing the Telecommunications Sector in the European Union 141

6.2 Liberalization of the Telecommunications Sector in Estonia 145

6.3 Reform of Port Services in Romania 152

7.1 Missed Opportunities in the Algerian Legal Market 179

7.2 French Entry into the Algerian Supermarket Sector 181

7.3 Why Liberalization Often Produces Disappointing Results: Sequencing, Regulation, and Access Policies 186