Abdeljaouad Ezzrari

Bio: Abdeljaouad Ezzrari is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Poverty & Survey data collection. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 3 publications receiving 54 citations.

A multiple correspondence analysis approach to the measurement of multidimensional poverty in Morocco, 2001-2007

Abstract: The measurement of multidimensional poverty has been advocated by most welfare scholars and is experiencing a growth in interest partly explained by controversial debates emerged across academics and practitioners. This chapter follows one of the least explored approaches—multiple correspondence analysis (MCA)—to assess multidimensional poverty in Morocco between 2001 and 2007. MCA provides two major advantages for the measurement of multidimensional poverty: it generates a matrix of “weights” based on the variance-covariance matrix of all welfare dimensions selected and provides a natural approach for constructing a composite welfare indicator that satisfies essential poverty orderings axioms. The application shows that poverty in Morocco has declined according to both monetary and multidimensional indicators and that these findings are robust to stochastic dominance tests. This chapter concludes that the sustained positive growth that Morocco experienced during the last decade has translated in improvements in living conditions well beyond monetary returns.

Estimating Quarterly Poverty Rates Using Labor Force Surveys: A Primer

Abstract: The paper shows how Labor Force Surveys can be used effectively to estimate poverty rates using Household Expenditure Surveys and cross-survey imputation methods. With only two rounds of Household Expenditure Survey data for Morocco (2001 and 2007), the paper estimates quarterly poverty rates for the period 2001-2010 by imputing household expenditures into the Labor Force Surveys. The results are encouraging. The methodology is able to accurately reproduce official poverty statistics by combining current Labor Force Surveys with previous period Household Expenditure Surveys, and vice versa. Although the focus is on head-count poverty, the method can be applied to any welfare indicator that is a function of household income or expenditure, such as the poverty gap or the Gini index of inequality. The newly produced time-series of poverty rates can help researchers and policy makers to: (a) study the determinants of poverty reduction or use poverty as an explanatory factor in cross-section and panel models; (b) forecast poverty rates based on a time-series model fitted to the data; and (c) explore the linkages between labor market conditions and poverty and simulate the effects of policy reforms or economic shocks. This is a promising research agenda that can expand significantly the tool-kit of the welfare economist.

Estimating Quarterly Poverty Rates Using Labor Force Surveys: A Primer

Abstract: The paper shows how Labor Force Surveys can be used effectively to estimate poverty rates using Household Expenditure Surveys and cross-survey imputation methods. With only two rounds of Household Expenditure Survey data for Morocco (2001 and 2007), the paper estimates quarterly poverty rates for the period 2001-2010 by imputing household expenditures into the Labor Force Surveys. The results are encouraging. The methodology is able to accurately reproduce official poverty statistics by combining current Labor Force Surveys with previous period Household Expenditure Surveys, and vice versa. Although the focus is on head-count poverty, the method can be applied to any welfare indicator that is a function of household income or expenditure, such as the poverty gap or the Gini index of inequality. The newly produced time-series of poverty rates can help researchers and policy makers to: (a) study the determinants of poverty reduction or use poverty as an explanatory factor in cross-section and panel models; (b) forecast poverty rates based on a time-series model fitted to the data; and (c) explore the linkages between labor market conditions and poverty and simulate the effects of policy reforms or economic shocks. This is a promising research agenda that can expand significantly the tool-kit of the welfare economist.

Impact of VAT Reforms on Moroccan Household’s Food Consumption: Microsimulation Analyses Through the QUAIDS Model (2001-2014)

Abstract: This study consists in determining how changes in indirect taxation, particularly VAT, affect differently various groups of household consumption’s structure. To do so, a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) is applied to data from the 2000/2001 and 2013/2014 National Household Consumption and Expenditure Surveys in order to estimate elasticities of demand for eight food groups and at the level of five household strata. Living standard differences of the diverse layers of the population make their preferences and reactions to economic shocks very different and change over time. It appears that Moroccan households tend to consume less vegetables and high-calorie products (sugars and cereals) and more fruit and protein-rich foods (meat, fish, fats, milk and dairy products). Moreover, the poorest households consume insufficient quantities of nutritious food products such as dairy products, fish and fruit in 2014, compared to 2001.It also shows that extending the scope of VAT to basic products, especially cereals, would affect Moroccan households’ consumption patterns, especially the poorest, for cereals as well as for other products rich in nutrients such as fish and fruit. Abstract Despite the abundance of literature on renewable energy (RE), studies about the role of policies in stimulating RE, especially for Arab countries, are still limited. This study aims at examining the role of RE policies as a key determinant of RE investment in 11 Arab countries using panel data covering the period 2010-2019 to identify areas for policy intervention to stimulate RE investment in Arab countries. The study uses RE share in total energy supply as a proxy for RE investments. The analysis finds there is heterogeneity among Arab countries concerning their efforts toward reaching an enabling environment for RE investment, but all of them are exhibiting an improvement. Results confirm the importance of policies, either using the RE policy index or its sub-indices in stimulating RE investment in Arab countries, as their variables are statistically significant. But despite the significance of policies, Arab countries have low coefficients that reflect weakness in some sub-indices, particularly carbon pricing and greenhouse gas monitoring, incentives and regulatory support, attributes of financial and regulatory incentives, and counterparty risk. To boost RE investment, Arab countries need to work vigorously on these pillars .

Work flexibility, job satisfaction, and job performance among romanian employees-Implications for sustainable human resource management

Abstract: In light of future work challenges, actual human resource management (HRM) needs to be redesigned, including long-term development, regeneration, and renewal of human resources, passing from consuming to developing human resources by incorporating the concept of sustainability. Thus, sustainable HRM is seen as an extension of strategic human resources, presenting a new approach to human resource management. The labor market is constantly changing, atypical work acquiring a significant relevance, especially in these current times of coronavirus crisis restrictions. In Romania, promoting the law of teleworking transformed labor flexibility into a topic of interest, and became an increasingly vital requirement for employment and a motivating factor for Romanian employees. In such a context, this paper aims to investigate the link between employee development and worktime and workspace flexibility as relevant characteristics of sustainable HRM, job satisfaction and job performance among Romanian employees in order to identify how to redesign HRM in the face of “future work” challenges. Additionally, the paper aims to examine the impact of different types of flexibility—contractual, functional, working time, and workspace flexibility—in order to highlight the relevance of employee development and employee flexibility as important aspects of sustainable HRM in increasing the overall level of employee job satisfaction. In order to make this possible, an “employee flexibility composite indicator,” which takes into account different types of flexibility, has been developed using feedback from Romanian employees, which was gathered by a national representative survey using multiple correspondence analysis. Furthermore, the impact of both individual and employee flexibility on overall level of job satisfaction has been quantified using binary logistic regression models. Within the research, there is a particular focus on the impact of new types of workspaces (flex office, co-working, total home office, partial home office—FO, CW, HOT, HOP) on job performance, job satisfaction, organizational performance, professional growth and development, social and professional relationships, and personal professional performance as well as on the overall level of work motivation. The empirical results revealed that these new types of workspaces are highly appreciated by employees, generating a growing interest among them. Partial home working, the mix between working from home and working in a company’s office, has been considered an optimal solution in increasing organizational performance, social and professional relationships, learning and personal development, and the overall level of work motivation. The results of the multiple correspondence analysis highlighted a medium level of flexibility among those Romanian employees interviewed, with only one third of them exhibiting high levels of flexibility. The empirical analysis of logistic regression analysis pointed out the role of functional flexibility, working time, and workspace flexibility along with the flexibility composite indicator in increasing the level of job satisfaction in employees. Therefore, if the challenge is to redesign the actual human resource management in order to include the concept of sustainability, attention needs to be on a combination of employee development-flexible time and flexible places, leading to an increase in both employee job satisfaction and organizational performance as important outcomes of sustainable HRM.

Measurements and determinants of multifaceted poverty in South Africa

Abstract: Poverty, despite being a multifaceted concept, is commonly measured in either absolute or relative monetary terms. However, it can also be measured subjectively, as people form perceptions on their relative income, welfare and life satisfaction. This is the first study that uses the National Income Dynamics Study data to analyse poverty across various objective and subjective methods. The paper finds that while respondents' poverty status varies across methods, blacks remain the racial group most likely to be defined as poor by at least one method. The multivariate analysis reveals that the impact of some explanatory variables, such as experience of negative events, frequency of crime victimisation, health status and importance of religious activities, is mixed across methods.

Multi-Dimensional Deprivation in the U.S.

Abstract: This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of multidimensional deprivation in the U.S. since the Great Recession, from 2008 to 2013. We estimate a Multidimensional Deprivation Index by compiling individual level data on several well-being dimensions from the American Community Survey. Our results indicate that the proportion of the population that is multidimensional deprived averages about 15 percent, which exceeds the prevalence of official income poverty. Lack of education, severe housing burden and lack of health insurance were some of the dimensions in which Americans were most deprived in. Though deprivation increased during the recession, it trended towards a decline between 2010 and 2013. Unlike the official and the supplemental poverty measure which did not show any decline, the deprivation index better reflects the economic recovery since the recession. Overall, the prevalence of deprivation was higher in the southern and the western states and among the Asian and the Hispanic population. Importantly, there was not much overlap between individuals who were income poor and those who were multidimensional deprived. In fact, almost 30 % of individuals with incomes slightly above the poverty threshold experienced multiple deprivations. Our analysis underscores the need to look beyond income based poverty statistics in order to fully realize the impact of the recession on individuals’ well-being.