In this December 2016 issue of the Journal of Economic Cooperation and Development, articles have been mainly selected to analyse trends in major economic indicators of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member Countries. A diverse set of seven articles focus on wage differentials for workplace accidents in Tunisia, the impacts of governance and foreign capital inflows on economic growth, the relationship between monetary integration, foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade, market price indices data of different market sectors and their fluctuations over time, the factors that determine the accessibility of the poor to microcredit loan in Nigeria and finally whether Official Development Assistance (ODA) is an effective tool for the socio-economic development of aid recipient OIC Member Countries.

The first article gives us estimates on the compensating wage differentials for job risks for union and nonunion workers. These estimated compensating wage differentials are used to measure the statistical value of life while the article also provides useful recommendations for policymakers to reduce the risk of death in Tunisia.

The second article is meant to verify the impacts of governance and foreign capital inflows on economic growth in 20 member countries of the OIC. Empirical findings indubitably vindicated the significance of good governance, and foreign capital inflows in the shapes of FDI and worker remittances in the process of economic growth and development.

The third article aims to explore the role of democracy and governance in the enhancement of Indonesian exports to the OIC countries during 1998-2012. While the governance in OIC countries also has positive and significant effect in improving Indonesian exports, democracy in OIC countries has negative and significant effect on the same matter, because lower income OIC countries tend to implement closed trade policies.

The fourth article investigates the relationship between monetary integration, foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade. It test the hypothesis that trade and FDI are substitutes. Economic theory states that FDI flows to countries where there are scarce resources. Given that the zone has not progressed much with growth, monetary union could serve as a stimulus to economic growth via trade and FDI flows. Therefore, any policy that promotes trade such as monetary integration also enhances FDI inflows as well.

The fifth article focuses on network science which has become an ever-increasing and interesting field of research in the recent decade by focusing on finding hidden knowledge in complex networks. This study of complex relationships in network structures has also gained a lot of interest in the world of finance and stock markets. This study focuses on Tehran Stock Exchange, looking into the market price indices data of different market sectors and their fluctuations over time.

Accessibility and prudent utilization of microcredit by the poor can serve as a vital role in poverty reduction and economic development, particularly in a developing economy. The sixth article examines the factors that determine the accessibility of the poor to microcredit loan in Nigeria.

The seventh and last article examines whether Official Development Assistance (ODA) is an effective tool for the socio-economic development of aid recipient OIC member countries. It measures the impact of ODA on the components of human development indicator; standards of living, life expectancy and education indices.

Amb. Musa KULAKLIKAYA
Editor-in-chief

Articles of the Journal of Economic Cooperation and Development, Vol.37 No.4 (2016)