1st Edition
Monetary Policy and Central Banking in the Middle East and North Africa
This book examines monetary policy, central banking and exchange rate regimes in the Middle East and North Africa. Part I covers central banking and monetary policy, while Part II covers monetary policy and exchange rate regimes. Some chapters focus on the monetary frameworks of particular countries, including Lebanon, Algeria, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Turkey, outlining the different systems operated in each case, considering their successes and failures, and discussing important issues such as government policy, macroeconomic performance, inflation and inflation targeting, central bank independence and the impact of broader political economic developments on the conduct of monetary policy. Other chapters cover thematic issues across the whole region, including: central bank independence, operations of debtor central banks, the effect of exchange rates on inflation, and the effect on countries’ trade of alternative exchange rate regimes. Drawing on the insights of scholars and policy-makers, this book is a vital resource for anyone wanting to understand the economies of the Middle East and North Africa.
1. Introduction David Cobham and Ghassan Dibeh Part 1: Central Banking and Monetary Policy 2. The Political Economy of Central Banking in the MENA Region with Special Reference to Lebanon Ghassan Dibeh 3. The Degree of Legal Central Bank Independence in MENA Countries: International Comparison and Macroeconomic Implications Enrico Gisolo 4. Monetary Policy Operations of Debtor Central Banks in MENA Countries Gunther Schnabl and Franziska Schober 5. Central Bank Independence in a MENA Transition Economy: The Experience of Algeria Abdallah Zouache and Mohamed-Cherif Ilmane 6. Inflation Targeting and Financial Fragility in Tunisia Adel Boughrara, Mongi Boughzala and Hassouna Moussa Part 2: Monetary Policy and Exchange Rate Regimes 7. Alternative Exchange Rate Regimes for MENA Countries: Gravity Model Estimates of the Trade Effects Christopher Adam and David Cobham 8. Exchange Rate Arrangements and Price Stability in MENA Countries Elias El-Achkar and Wassim Shahin 9. Exchange Rate Regimes for Small Countries: An Application to the Maghreb Countries Chrysost Bangaké, Jean-Baptiste Desquilbet and Nabil Jedlane 10. Estimating Central Bank Behaviour in Emerging Markets: The Case of Turkey Ozan Hatipoglu and C. Emre Alper 11. A Common Currency for Middle Eastern and North African Countries? Lessons from the European Monetary Union Sergio Rossi
Biography
David Cobham is professor of economics at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK. His main research area is monetary policy, particularly the UK, but he also has an interest in Middle East economies. He has published papers in Economic Journal, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, World Development, International Finance, and other journals.
Ghassan Dibeh is currently associate professor of economics at the Lebanese American University in Byblos. He is the editor of Review of Middle East Economics and Finance. His research interests include macroeconomics, political economy, financial economics and econophysics. His papers have appeared in Physica A, Review of Political Economy, Energy Economics, Journal of International Development and Middle Eastern Studies.
