Middle-East and North Africa Countries Case Study

Middle-East and North Africa Countries - Case Study Example The economic milieu in these countries reflected the need for empowerment. World Bank and IMF took the initiative to address the economic issue of these countries and had has taken financial programs for assistance. The MENA conferences held every year aims at providing sound regional economic reforms for these countries in order to strengthen their economic potential. The chief objective of these conferences is to create a business-friendly climate through boosting of international and regional investment. IMF and World Bank strongly believe that the prime challenge faced by MENA countries is the improvement of economic environment for private sector investment. Hence all the programs are designed to boost the private investment in this region. The IMF reforms designed for the MENA region follows a well calculated road towards global integration of these countries. In the beginning the reforms will help to stabilize the macroeconomic conditions within the countries. The next step will be designing reforms that helps to enhance the efficiency of domestic economy. And finally the countries will be competent enough to compete in the global markets. IMF has assisted the countries in MENA region with the ideas for improving the fiscal management of the countries. Some of the notable reforms implemented regarding this issue are implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the countries like Lebanon, Sudan and Islamic Republic of Mauritania, implementing reforms for income taxation especially in the countries of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Pakistan. Development of Financial Market The financial market within the countries of this region needs a radical development. In order to address this issue, Financial Sector Assessment Programs (FSAP) has been launched in 1999 by World Bank and IMF. Building up a resilient and well-regulated economy is imperative in order to establish the macroeconomic stability. The FSAP which is a joint effort by IMF and World Bank was launched with the vision of boosting the efforts taken in these countries for financial soundness. According to the prescribed terms of FSAP, IMF conducts the financial assessments of these countries to gauge their macroeconomic stability. According to the Financial System Stability Assessment (FSSA), probable risks for the country's economy are found out and the nation's ability to absorb macroeconomic shocks is assessed. Improving Transparency and Governance The joint effort of IMF and World Bank to improve the economic conditions of the countries in MENA region included a considerable attention on the quality of governance that prevails there. The economic policies of these countries are examined by comparing them with the international set of standards. IMF publishes the reports after examining the countries on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC). There are

Patterns Of Recidivism Related To Case Dispositions Of Thesis

Patterns Of Recidivism Related To Case Dispositions Of Alcohol-Impaired Driving Offenses. Harsher Punishment Means Less Recidivism Theory - Thesis Example This should act as a specific deterrence, whiche means that the offender is less likely to offend again. This is both because the greater charge will necessarily bring greater punishment, and the greater charge may be used to enhance penalties for future charges. If an offender pleads guilty to a driving while intoxicated, as opposed to pleading guilty to some other charge, like a driving while ability impaired, then that person has to contend with the harsher sentence of the DWI in comparison to the DWAI. He or she also has to contend with the consequences that radiate from this higher insurance rates, license revocation, etc. And, the offender must also know that, if he or she gets arrested again, he or she already has one DWI on his or her record, as opposed to having a DWAI on his or her record, so the penalties will be enhanced. Therefore, the basic premise of this study is that harsher penalties will result in less recidivism. The study at hand will hopefully illuminate whether this hypothesis is correct, as well as look at the effect that harsher penalties has on specific deterrence for the offender. Another basic premise is that plea bargaining to a lesser offense does not provide the proper deterrence to DWI offenders. The literature review will look at studies which shed light on this hypothesis, although whether or not harsher penalties, actually reduces recidivism or is the best method of reducing recidivism, is an open question. There are studies ( Moffatt & Poynton, 2007; Salzburg & Paulsrude, 1984; Yu, 1994) which state that harsher penalties do in fact reduce recidivism, but the literature also suggests that other methods may also reduce recidivism, perhaps to the extent that harsher penalties do or even more than harsher penalties. For instance, studies (Streff et al., 2001; Guerin & Pitts, 2002) suggest that a pre-trial diversion, which means that the offender does not plead guilty to any charge, but, rather, agrees to enter a rehabilitation p rogram and, upon successful completion, will have the charges against him dropped, are successful in preventing repeat offenders. Ignition interlock is another method which has shown promise in this regard(Popkin et al., 1992 ). Therefore, harsher penalties are not necessarily the final word on whether or not an offender recidivates, and the challenge of this study is to determine if the harsher penalties, and lack of plea bargaining, offers a better outcome for recidivism then do alternative methods. Literature Bolstering The Theory that Harsher Punishment Means Less Recidivism One of the theories regarding criminal recidivism is that it is generally reduced when the punishment is swift, certain, and severe (Moffatt & Poynton, 2007). However, it is unclear whether swift, certain, and severe punishment actually do deter repeat offenses. For instance, Nichols & Ross examined the literature surrounding whether actual incarceration results in less recidivism. They looked at several stu dies which tracked recividism rates for offenders who were incarcerated at either a general facility, like a jail or prison, or a special facility, such as an intensive treatment lockup. In reviewing these studies, Nichols & Ross found that, in five of the studies, there was no reduction in recividism. One study which found that traditional lockups did not reduce recividism, but special facilities did. One study which found that a traditional prison and a special facility showed no difference in recividism. And one study which found that incarceration reduced recividism for first-time offenders. Since