Here was the midterm 2 years ago, just to give you an idea of some possible questions for our midterm in class on Thursday, March 4

 

Take Home Exam

Globalization in the MENA (Gov 365N/MES 323K)
Dr. Henry
March 4-6, 2008
 
 
Write half hour essays (500 words each) on two of the following - since this is a take home, you may spend as much time as you please on each, but no more than 500 words, please. Email back to chenry@austin.utexas.edu no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, March 6 - thank you and good luck! To insure meeting your deadline, there is no class on Thursday.
 
 

1. What are "asymmetries of information" and why may they hinder economic development? Try in your answer to discuss Stiglitz, Arab Human Development reports, the need of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa to attract foreign investment and technology, and - this may stretch your imagination - how Galal Amin could have used the term to describe certain Egyptian phenomena he wrote about in What Ever Happened to the Egyptians?

2. Discuss the arguments concerning oil and other natural resource "windfalls." To what can they really explain either the economic stagnation or the freedom "deficit" of the MENA region?

3. The World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, the EU, and the US government all emphasize the need of the MENA governments to reform themselves politically as well as to engage in economic reforms for development. To what extent is "the Washington Consensus" still a useful shorthand definition of the reforms to be undertaken? To what extent is it being superseded by other reform proposals, such as "the Barcelona Consensus" and Arab Human Development reports?