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Middle East and Central Asia > Saudi Arabia

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 11 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Remittances x
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Cover Regional Economic Outlook, October 2020, Middle East and Central Asia
Regional Economic Outlook, October 2020, Middle East and Central Asia
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.

Abstract

Countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) region and those in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with swift and stringent measures to mitigate its spread and impact but continue to face an uncertain and difficult environment. Oil exporters were particularly hard hit by a “double-whammy” of the economic impact of lockdowns and the resulting sharp decline in oil demand and prices. Containing the health crisis, cushioning income losses, and expanding social spending remain immediate priorities. However, governments must also begin to lay the groundwork for recovery and rebuilding stronger, including by addressing legacies from the crisis and strengthening inclusion.

Keywords:
public health; reopening; rebuilding; oil revenue; OPEC+; REO; oil exporter; MCD country; oil importer; IMF staff calculation; MCD firm; MCD region
Cover IMF Working Papers
International Remittances, Migration, and Primary Commodities in FSGM
Stephen Snudden
This paper adds international migration and remittances into the IMF’s Flexible System of Global Models (FSGM). FSGM is a global general equilibrium model with endogenous primary commodity markets. A method to estimate the structural dynamics of major remitter regions is proposed. The dynamics of remittances and migration in FSGM are calibrated to be consistent with the main stylized facts of the empirical estimates. Structural disturbances pertinent to current global remittance flows are examined. These disturbances include disruptions to oil supply, output variation in Europe and the United States, labor nationalization policies in Saudi Arabia, and a global reduction in the cost to remit. The multilateral framework illustrates how remittance inflows need not originate from the region with the underlying economic disturbance but can arise from third party remitter regions affected by global commodity markets. The results also illustrate that the correlation of remittance inflows and the real GDP of labor-exporting economies can be either positively or negatively correlated. The evidence suggests that the behavioral incentive to migrate and remit cannot be deduced from correlations of real GDP and remittance inflows.
Keywords:
WP; real GDP; demand shock; International Migration; Remittances; Macroeconomic Interdependence; Oil Price; remittance dynamics; remittance flow; remittance inflow; oil-importing economy; migration-remittances corridor; remittance outflow; nationalization policy; inflows correlation; Oil prices; Foreign labor; Oil; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Remittances in Pakistan: Why have they gone up, and why Aren't they coming down?
Ms. Yan M Sun
and
Udo Kock
The flow of workers' remittances to Pakistan has more than quadrupled in the last eight years and it shows no sign of slowing down, despite the economic downturn in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other important host countries for Pakistani workers. This paper analyses the forces that have driven remittance flows to Pakistan in recent years. The main conclusions are: (i) the growth in the inflow of workers' remittances to Pakistan is in large part due to an increase in worker migration; (ii) higher skill levels of migrating workers have helped to boost remittances; (iii) other imporant determinants of remittances to Pakistan are agriculture output and the relative yield on investments in the host and home countries.
Keywords:
WP; remittance; Pakistan; worker; remittances build; Workers Remittances; Migration; remittance pattern; worker migration; home country affect remittance decision; oil import; remittance behavior; remittance theory; Remittances; Outward remittances; Migrant labor; Return on investment; Global
Cover Regional Economic Outlook, May 2009, Middle East and Central Asia
Regional Economic Outlook, May 2009, Middle East and Central Asia
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.

Abstract

The global crisis is now affecting the countries in the Middle East and Central Asia region, and economic and financial vulnerabilities are rising. In the Middle East and North Africa, good economic fundamentals, appropriate policy responses, and sizable currency reserves are helping mitigate the impact of the shock. In the Caucasus and Central Asia, lower commodity prices and adverse economic developments in Russia have hit hard. The report notes that countries should prepare for the contingency of a prolonged global slowdown by supporting domestic demand for a longer period and strengthening financial systems further. In some countries with rising unemployment, it will be important to target government resources and policies on protecting the poor; in others, increased donor support will be necessary to maintain needed economic development.

Keywords:
REO; CCA country; Algeria; Bahrain; Kuwait; Qatar; country datum; oil exporter; broad money; Iran's projection; Oil; Remittances; Foreign direct investment; Exchange rates; Fiscal stimulus; Global; Middle East; Central Asia and the Caucasus; Maghreb; Europe; CCA headline inflation; CCA region; GCC subgroup; MEOI group; Oil prices; Current account balance; North Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Do the Gulf Oil-Producing Countries Influence Regional Growth? The Impact of Financial and Remittance Flows
Mr. Nadeem Ilahi
and
Riham Shendy
This paper tests the association between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries' financial and remittance outflows and regional growth in the Middle East. The findings, based on 35-year panel data, indicate that growth rates of real GDP, private consumption and private investment in regional countries are strongly associated with remittance outflows from and the accumulation of financial surpluses in the GCC. Unlike in other developing and emerging market countries, growth in regional countries is not influenced by growth in the North, and is not export led. Linkages with the GCC could help sustain output growth in the regional countries in the face of the global economic slowdown and oil price shocks and could provide diversification gains to international capital seeking markets uncorrelated with Northern and emerging market countries.
Keywords:
WP; remittance; GCC remittance outflow; GDP; current account
Cover IMF Working Papers
Remittances and Institutions: Are Remittances a Curse?
Jihad Dagher
,
Mr. Ralph Chami
,
Mr. Peter J Montiel
, and
Mr. Yasser Abdih
This paper addresses the complex and overlooked relationship between the receipt of workers' remittances and institutional quality in the recipient country. Using a simple model, we show how an increase in remittance inflows can lead to deterioration of institutional quality - specifically, to an increase in the share of funds diverted by the government for its own purposes. Empirical testing of this proposition is complicated by the likelihood of reverse causality. In a cross section of 111 countries we document a negative impact of the ratio of remittance inflows to GDP on domestic institutional quality, even after controlling for potential reverse causality. We find that a higher ratio of remittances to GDP is associated with lower indices of control of corruption, government effectiveness, and rule of law.
Keywords:
WP; private income
Cover IMF Working Papers
What Drives Stock Market Development in the Middle East and Central Asia—Institutions, Remittances, or Natural Resources?
Mr. Andreas Billmeier
and
Miss Isabella Massa
In this paper, we assess the macroeconomic determinants of stock market capitalization in a panel of 17 countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, including both hydrocarbon-rich countries and economies without sizeable natural resource wealth. In addition to traditional variables, we include an institutional variable and remittances among the regressors. We find that (i) both institutions and remittances have a positive and significant impact on market capitalization; and (ii) both regressors matter, especially in countries without significant hydrocarbon sectors; whereas (iii) in resource-rich countries, stock market capitalization is mainly driven by the oil price.
Keywords:
WP; country; remittance; economy; capitalization; economic growth; oil country; price
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Union of the Comoros: Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix
International Monetary Fund
This Selected Issues paper analyzes the decentralization of government in the Union of the Comoros and its economic management functions foreseen under the constitution. The paper examines the special challenge of combining a civil service reform needed to increase the efficiency of the civil service with the decentralization of the civil service foreseen under the new constitution. It discusses developments in a number of civil service indicators that are often used to analyze the government wage bill and employment in relation to economic and fiscal objectives.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; government; island government; trade regimes of the Comoros; constitution; Comorian authorities; Union government; management structures; wage bill; Civil service; Civil service reform; Exports; Tariffs; Imports; Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover Informal Funds Transfer Systems
Informal Funds Transfer Systems
An Analysis of the Informal Hawala System
Mr. Mohammed El Qorchi
,
Mr. Samuel Munzele Maimbo
, and
Mr. John F. Wilson

Abstract

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there has been increased public interest in informal funds transfer (IFT) systems. This paper examines the informal hawala system, an IFT system found predominantly in the Middle East and South Asia. The paper examines the historical and socioeconomic context within which the hawala has evolved, the operational features that make it susceptible to potential financial abuse, the fiscal and monetary implications for hawala-remitting and hawala-recipient countries, and current regulatory and supervisory responses.

Keywords:
OP; IFT system; transaction; remittance system; IFT; authority; IFT transaction; transfer system; Hawala transaction; Currencies; Remittances; Financial sector; Commercial banks; South Asia; Middle East; Southeast Asia; North America; South America
Cover Financial Assistance from Arab Countries and Arab Regional Institutions
Financial Assistance from Arab Countries and Arab Regional Institutions
Mr. P. van den Boogaerde

Abstract

Arab financial assistance to developing - particularly Arab - countries rose sharply between 1973 and 1980 but fell gradually through the 1980s, owing mainly to weakening oil prices. As a percent of GNP, however, Arab contributions remain the largest among major donors. This paper surveys the volume and distribution of Arab financing from 1973 to 1989.

Keywords:
OP; IMF staff calculation; disbursement; recipient country; net disbursement; donor country; assistance flow; Loans; Outward remittances; Concessional external borrowing; Imports; Project loans; Middle East; Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Western Hemisphere; Asia and Pacific; price-production strategy