We received fourteen (14) eligible proposals for this 2015 round under the General theme of Transition and Modernization of the South Med countries. Following their evaluation, the Selection committee selected seven (7) proposals for funding in the context of the FEMISE-European Commission contract on: “Support to economic research, studies and dialogue of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership”*.

The seven selected proposals include 12 different FEMISE Affiliates from 9 different EU-Med countries (4 from the north and 5 from the south) and with the participation of more than 30 researchers from the Mediterranean.

Drafts of the research papers will be presented in the forthcoming FEMISE Annual Conference (early 2016).

We wish our researchers all the best in the efforts that they will undertake.

We strongly encourage all of our affiliates to participate in the second round (Spring 2016) and we wish you every success with your research activities.

The winners are:

FEM41-01, Inequality, Intergenerational Mobility of Women Educational Attainment and Inclusive Policies in the Arab Countries, IEAPS, Al Akhawayn University, Morocco in collaboration with The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Romania

The objective of this research is to analyze inequality and intergenerational mobility of women educational attainment in Arab countries with comparisons to Central and Eastern European economies. The results and outcomes of this research are devoted to the enrichment of economic and social policies in Arab countries on the role of female inclusion in the society.

FEM41-04, Winners and Losers in the Tourism Industry along the transition process: Evidence from South and North MED countries, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA), Egypt in collaboration with the Institute of International Economics (IEI-UV), University of Valencia, Spain

The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of Arab Spring in the MED region by focusing on the situation of the three core tourist destinations: Egypt, Tunisia and Spain. This will be done by using a macro and a micro (Survey-based) approaches. Through this study the goal is to provide a better support to decision makers with strategies to enhance the tourism industry competitiveness, income and employability.

FEM41-07, FDI in MENA: Impact of political and trade liberalisation process , University of Granada, Spain in collaboration with Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales de Tunis (Université de Tunis)

This project aims at providing a comprehensive outlook of foreign direct investments, reinvestments and desinvestments flows (in terms of number of operations and volume) in the MENA countries together with an assessment of the role played by political factors and trade policies at a macro level. One of the expected outcomes of the project would be a significant insight to the possible actions and programmes to be undertaken by public agencies and private institutions, which will be of special relevance to the policy makers in the process of achieving sustainable growth.

FEM41-08, Corporate performance in the South Mediterranean region: Explaining the role of Business constraints, institutions and culture, Institute of International Economics, University Jaume I, Spain in collaboration with the American University Cairo.

The aim of the project is twofold. On the one hand, it aims at analyzing the recent trends in corporate performance and economic growth in Southern Mediterranean countries at the firm and country level. On the other hand, it aims at identifying and evaluating the potential factors that may trigger and foster economic changes in the region. Special emphasis will be placed on the economic modernization of the South Mediterranean countries and their economic and institutional transition, which will make an important contribution to the Policy making process.

FEM41-09, Spatial proximity and firm performances: how can location-based economies and policies help the transition process in the Mediterranean region? Empirical evidence from Turkey, Tunisia and Italy. CELPE (Department of Economics and Statistics- University of Salerno, Salerno), Italy in collaboration with the Middle East Technical University (METU), Faculty of Economics & Administrative Sciences, Department of Economics, Ankara, Turkey and Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales de Tunis (Université de Tunis)

The aim of the research is to investigate the interaction between firms’ specific variables and regional factors in enhancing firm level total factor productivity (TFP) and growth in local contexts. The project will investigate these issues for a set of countries located in three different regions of the Mediterranean, the North (Italy) the East (Turkey) and the South (Tunisia). The findings will provide useful inputs for improving the policy making process in the host countries, especially in the field of industrial policy, with the aim of enhancing the understanding of the localization economies involvement in the economic transition and sustainable development

FEM41-12, The determinants of export performance of firms in MENA countries. Comparison to CEE countries and Turkey, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Poland in collaboration with the Hebrew University, Leonard Davis Institute of International Relations, Israel.

The objective of the research project is to assess the transition of firms in selected MENA countries to the requirements of globalized market economies. In particular the project will analyze and compare the export behaviour of firms in these selected countries with that of firms from countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Israel and Turkey The project will enable us to obtain comparable results on the potential role of various firm characteristics in the selected MENA countries and for particular countries and to formulate conclusions concerning policy recommendations aimed at increasing the export competitiveness of economies and the creation of an appropriate institutional environment.

FEM41-13, The role of vicinity linkages in the EU-Med region for trade growth : Focus on Migration, level of education, and social integration. Institute of International Economics (IEI-UV), University of Valencia, Spain in collaboration with the American University of Cairo, Egypt         

This project will explore the role of proximity and vicinity ties in the trade-migration nexus as a win-win trade growth policy for the MED region along the transition process. First, it will investigate if vicinity ties increases the size and type of trade creation effects, showing some type of market specificities as a novelty in this literature. Second, the project will provide a deeper understanding of the role played by characteristics of migrants in this context, mainly for two main issues: educational level and degree of social integration of migrants. These analyses will provide salient recommendations towards social policies.

The FEMISE Team

* These reports will be produced with the financial assistance of the European Union within the context of the European Commission-FEMISE project on : “Support to economic research, studies and dialogue of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership”. The contents of these reports are the sole responsibility of the authors and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.