ECONOMIC POLICIES OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES

Within the framework of the course in Language, Politics and Economics of the Arab countries, this teaching is aimed at providing students with the analytical and methodological background tools to understand the major economic and social dynamics that have been characterizing Arab countries since their independence. The Arab world is currently faced with several socio-economic challenges, such as high levels of unemployment, labour precariousness, huge social inequalities, a fragile production structure, and scarcely diversified economies, strongly dependent on exogenous rents, and a dramatic food crisis. However, there exist significant political and socio-economic differences among Arab countries, which need to be taken into account in order to well understand the complexity of this geographical area and its current developments and problems. Studying the socio-economic problems of the Arab region as well as the social and economic policies explaining them through a historical perspective is necessary for a correct and deep understanding of current problems and future perspectives.

i) The course will allow students to acquire a good knowledge of the following issues:
- Major socio-economic characteristics and problems of the Arab region;
- History of social and economic policies pursued from the post-independence period until now.

ii) A country-case study approach (with a focus on Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia) will enable students to develop a specific awareness and understanding of the different political economies of the Arab region.

iii) By examining a plurality of perspectives and interpretations, students will learn to adopt a critical approach in assessing past and current social and economic policies in the Arab region.

Knowledge of English
Background knowledge of the contemporary history of Arab countries

The course will be structured around three parts.

i) The first part will present major economic and social problems of Arab countries (lack of diversification, high disparities, labour problems, food import dependency and so on).

ii) The second part will explain the reasons behind such problems by analysing the major social and economic policies implemented from the post-independence period until today, specifically:
- State centred policies and import substituting industrialization (in the 1960s-1970s)
- Neoliberal economic policies and structural adjustment programs (since the mid-1980s until today).

iii) The third part will assess the social, economic and political implications of neoliberal reforms in selected countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries.

First and second part of the programme:
- Paciello, M.C. (2010), Introduction to the Economics of the Arab World, Nuova Cultura Edition, La Sapienza University, Rome (reference manual for the first and second part of the course; only chapters 4-5-6-7-8 available on the moodle platform).
- Power-point presentations of the lectures (available on the moodle platform - https://moodle.unive.it/login/index.php - after each lecture).

Third part of the programme:
- One country case from among those indicated by the lecturer (Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan). The list of texts is available on the moodle platform.

The course has two modes of assessment.

The student can choose between two modes:

a) The first mode consists of a mid-course examination and a final oral examination. During the course, students are invited to work in groups on the third part of the syllabus, culminating in an oral presentation in the final lecture. The final oral examination will cover the first and second parts of the programme.

b) The second mode consists of a single final examination: an oral examination covering the three parts of the syllabus. For the third part, students will have to choose a country case and prepare themselves on the given texts.

oral

With regard to grading (the way in which grades will be assigned), irrespective of the
attending or non-attending mode:
A. marks in the 18-22 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- sufficient knowledge and applied understanding with reference to the syllabus;
- limited ability to collect and/or interpret data, making independent judgements;
- sufficient communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language relating to the
economic operation of public services;
B. marks in band 23-26 will be awarded in the presence of:
- discrete knowledge and applied comprehension skills with reference to the syllabus;
- discrete ability to collect and/or interpret data, making autonomous judgements;
- fair communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language relating to the
economic operation of public services;
C. scores in the 27-30 bracket will be awarded in the presence of:
- good or very good knowledge and applied comprehension skills with reference to the syllabus;
- good or very good ability to collect and/or interpret data, making independent judgements;
- fully appropriate communication skills, especially in relation to the use of the specific language that
relating to the economic operation of public services.
D. Honours will be awarded in the presence of applied knowledge and understanding with reference to the
programme, judgement and communication skills, excellent.

- Power-point presentations
- Case study analysis
- Group activities
- Analysis of audio sources and videos
- Analysis of secondary sources (academic literature) and primary sources (interviews, official documents, statistical data..)
- Complementary readings on the covered topics (not compulsory for the exam)

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development