Research

The study aims at understanding inter-relationships amongst various macroeconomic indicators in the Gaza Strip, including labour by sector, government consumption and revenues, foreign trade, national accounts, and production and prices. 27 behavioural equations involving over 200 variables are used to simulate a number of macroeconomic policies and evaluate their impact on Gaza's overall economic performance. One key finding is that unemployment will continue to rise under current conditions, and there is little economic return resulting from the Israeli redeployment.

The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS), at the instigation of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, has conducted a study on women in high-ranking positions in the public sector in Palestine. The objectives of the study were to examine the status of women in senior positions in government institutions and discover whether there was any discrimination against them in any aspect of employment, including hiring, performance evaluation, promotion and remuneration.

The key objective of the study is to explore the reality of female TVET in Palestine by focusing on the supply and demand of institutions and specializations for women. In addition, it aims to find ways to activate the role of TVET in reinforcing female opportunities and their position in the labor force and the economy as a whole.

This study was commissioned by GVC – Gruppo di Volontariato Civile and carried out by the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) as part of an EC-funded project aimed at improving the economic and social conditions of Palestinian rural villages in the Tulkarem and Qalqilya districts by increasing agricultural productivity and profitability and enhancing food security.

This study is one of the few ever to analyse and simulate macroeconomic polices in the Gaza Strip alone. Given the special circumstances of Gaza, it attempted to comprehend the effect of macroeconomic policies on the labour market by means of an econometric model that was specially developed for the Gaza Strip by MAS. The model consists of three main groups: the first group includes nine behavioural equations; four are related to labour demand in the four main economic sectors and one deals with labour in Israel.

Economists and other experts in the field agree unanimously that the expansion and diversification of foreign trade is one of the issues at the top of the development agenda. There is a deep-rooted and well-founded belief that the growth of the Palestinian economy and its progress towards sustainable development will ultimately depend on the value of its external trade. For this reason the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) gives high priority to the study of this issue.

This paper is intended to further stimulate thedebate on the vision for the development of the Palestinian economy. It examines the identity of the Palestinian economy and its desired structure, looks the role that should be played by the various development partners, and explores the nature of the relationships that connect Palestine with its Arab neighbours and the rest of the international community. The Palestinian National Authority, the private sector and NGOs need to cooperate to come up with answers about the optimal direction of long-term development.

This study focuses on the international aid provided to the Palestinian people and is divided into three main sections. First, the study presents a comprehensive profile of the international aid directed to the Palestinians since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. This profile discusses the main qualitative and quantitative characteristics of these aid flows, including their sources, forms, recipients and sectors targeted.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) constitute 95% of the existing economic institutions in Palestine, and are the largest employers. The Palestinian National Authority became aware of the importance of such projects in economic development, so they started various studies on how to support and encourage SMEs.

This study aims to review the Palestinian Specifications and Measures Law No. 6 (2000) along with its amendments, regulations and instructions. In addition, it aims to analyze the law’s strengths and weaknesses, to draft amendment proposals to enhance its legal framework and to deal with its predicaments in a manner that fits within the related Palestinian laws and also conforms to the current international standards and trends, while also complying to the general framework of the Palestinian Standards Institution’s (PSI) new strategy for the years 2010-2013.