This research combined global climate, crop and economic models to examine the economic impact of climate change-induced loss of agricultural productivity in Pakistan. Previous studies conducted systematic model inter-comparisons, but results varied widely due to differences in model approaches, research scenarios and input data. This paper extends that analysis in the case of Pakistan by taking yield decline output of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) for CERES-Wheat, CERES-Rice and Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) crop models as an input in the global economic model to evaluate the economic effects of climate change-induced loss of crop production by 2050. Results showed that climate change-induced loss of wheat and rice crop production by 2050 is 19.5 billion dollars on Pakistan’s Real Gross Domestic Product coupled with an increase in commodity prices followed by a notable decrease in domestic private consumption. However, the decline in the crops’ production not only affects the economic agents involved in the agriculture sector of the country, but it also has a multiplier effect on industrial and business sectors. A huge rise in commodity prices will create a great challenge for the livelihood of the whole country, especially for urban households. It is recommended that the government should have a sound agricultural policy that can play a role in influencing its ability to adapt successfully to climate change as adaption is necessary for high production and net returns of the farm output.

Export diversification's role in reducing environmental degradation, especially in oil-dependent countries, has been overlooked. This study investigated the effect of export diversification, along with energy consumption and economic growth as important control variables, on CO₂ emissions and ecological footprint in Oman from 1984 to 2014 by employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. To ensure the stability of the model, robust long-run relationships estimators including Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) were used. The results suggest that export diversification has a positive impact on Oman's environmental degradation. A positive effect of energy on both environmental indicators was found, with a lower effect on CO₂ emissions. Diversification of exports is strongly recommended in Oman by shifting to more energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and high-tech industries.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, is to apply the benchmarking approach to the dates export supply chain (DESC) in Oman and Tunisia (taking Tunisia as a benchmark) to identify gaps in the organizational and operational structures of the DESC in the two countries. Second, is to utilize the information generated to put forward recommendations to improve Omani DESC. Design/methodology/approach – Four benchmarking dimensions are developed, each dimension with a number of key performance indicators (KPIs). The KPIs are then used in the benchmarking exercise. Findings – Results show that Tunisia is performing better than Oman in all the four dimensions. Originality/value – The study enables the readers and the stakeholders to gain some valuable insights in the subject matter. A careful analysis of the findings should enable Oman policy makers and stakeholders to produce an industry action plan to correct the gaps and take the lead.

Arab intra-regional trade in agro-food accounts for more than half of the total Arab agro-food trade, displaying strong “trade-intensity” over the past decade. This indicates the potential of developing agro-food regional production networks aligning with the region’s comparative advantage in agro-food products. However, intermediates trade, as an indicator of value chain integration, has been low and sluggish due to various structural and policy factors. This article aims to analyze the determinants of trade in agro-food intermediates in the Arab region, focusing on the role and significance of regional trade arrangements and trade facilitation. The Broad Economic Category (BEC) classification is used to categorize goods into intermediate and final goods. Our analysis, using the gravity model, shows that regional trade arrangements in their current form do not significantly affect regional trade (except in the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC]). We also reveal that timeliness in export delivery is an important determinant of trade in agro-food intermediates. Thus, Arab countries should simplify their customs clearance procedures and engage in a deeper form of regional integration to help build trade corridors and enhance regional value-added chains (RVCs).

The Gulf Cooperation council countries (GCC) have recently embarked in an energy subsidy reform following the drastic drop of international oil prices in 2014. The reform consists of increasing energy prices (fuel, electricity, gas) in order to gradually phase out the subsidy and rationalize government expenditure. Governments however are concerned about the adverse effects of high energy prices on inflation, economic growth and the welfare of low-income households. The objective of this paper is to assess the economy wide effects of the energy price increase in Oman focusing in particular on income distribution as reflected in the Gini-coefficients and other inequality indicators. The study uses an extended version of the general equilibrium GTAP Model (MyGATP) in which the single regional household was splitted into a government account and 8 household types based on the income and expenditure survey of Oman. Results indicate the effects of reducing the energy subsidy by 50% would lead to a slight increase in the GDP by 0.62% , an increase in government saving by 2.9 billion US $ and a reduction in household welfare by about 3% due mainly to the increase in the price index of private consumption (general inflation). The effect on the Gini coefficient is however very small showing little sensitivity in the short run of income inequality to the subsidy reform.Keywords: Energy subsidy, MyGATP, OmanJEL Classifications: Q40, C6, D6,O53DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.7142