This paper examines the FDI response to political shocks. We first investigate whether political or institutional quality is an important determinant of FDI inflows using a panel VAR model in a dataset of 146 countries over the period of 1989-2015. Then, we exploit the Arab Spring incidence to measure the short-run effects of political shocks on FDI flows using the differences-in-differences (DiD) estimator for a sub-sample of nineteen countries in the MENA region. We account for possible bias of the DiD estimator resulting from dealing with heterogeneous group of countries by using the propensity score matching based on the countries economic development and political settings. Our findings show that a positive shock to political quality would increase FDI flows which lends evidence to the importance of political quality as an important determinant of FDI flows. In addition, we find that the Arab spring has led to a drop in FDI flows to the MENA region.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of ownership concentration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The study highlights the importance of three main factors in shaping ownership structure: country, industry, and firm level. Annual data was collected from 912 firms in eight MENA countries over a seven-year period (2008–2014). Our sample consists of 5,521 observations. Due to the longitudinal nature of data, the study uses a random effects regression model. Also, 2SLS is used to control the endogeneity issue between ownership concentration and firm performance. The study finds that both firm size and firm age have a significant, positive relationship with ownership concentration. However, regarding financial performance, only Tobin’s Q has an impact on ownership concentration, while the return on assets and the return on equity have no significant effects. Country-level factors, such as the rule of law index and corruption control, have a significant, negative relationship with ownership concentration. Moreover, the Arab Spring has a significant, negative influence on ownership concentration. This study is the first to investigate determinants of ownership concentration in the MENA region and the effects on ownership concentration by a significant political event: the Arab revolution, popularly known as the ArabSpring, a revolutionary wave that started at the end of 2010 to change the rule of local governments.

The Arab Spring and Jasmine Revolutions in the Middle East and Northern Africa led to considerable hope for some people that China would experience a similar political uprising and considerable anxiety for the ruling regime. While there are a number of significant differences between China and MENA countries, there are all also enough commonalities to justify concerns about political instability. Whether China will ultimately be able to avoid the fate of authoritarian regimes in MENA countries will turn on its ability to overcome a series of structural challenges. This article examines the conflict between the rising pressure for social justice and the ability of China’s legal institutions to satisfy them.

This paper describes the energy sector in the Mediterranean and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries. It first analyses the production of energy by fossil and renewable sources and discusses the increasing demand in the area and its consequences. It describes the policy frameworks to promote renewable energy as well as fossil-fuel subsidies, which are still abundant in the MENA area. It presents some avenues for integration across the Mediterranean and finally it discusses the implications of the Arab springon energy production in the next future.

Following the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, many had high hopes not only for democratisation but also for transitional justice to address the myriad abuses that had taken place in the region, both during the uprisings and for decades prior to them. Despite these hopes, most of the transitions in the region have stalled, along with the possibility of transitional justice. This volume is the first to look at this process and brings together leading experts in the fields of human rights and transitional justice, and in the history, politics and justice systems of countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Bahrain and Morocco. While these countries have diverse histories, political institutions, and experiences with accountability, most have experienced non-transition, stalled transition, or political manipulation of transitional justice measures, highlighting the limits of such mechanisms. These studies should inform reflection not only on the role of transitional justice in the region, but also on challenges to its operation more generally.