December 2010 Monthly Report - Eng - Frp2.org

Activity 3: Continuing Support to Studies and Economic Policy Department staff and Macro-
Modeling
During the month of December, Component C through the efforts of STTA Dr. Janusz Szyrmer completed
the initial stage of collecting the quarterly macroeconomic data set, which feeds the macro-fiscal model. The
dataset and model should produce quarterly macro-fiscal projections to be used in the Ministry of Finance’s
Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) and the Medium-Term Debt Strategy (MTDS). Meanwhile, a first
version of the macro-fiscal model was finalized and results were presented and explained in a one day
workshop conducted for the staff and management of the Studies and Economic Policies Directorate (SEPD)
at the Ministry. Throughout Dr. Szyrmer’s two-month mission, which ended on December 22, daily training
courses were conducted for SEPD staff on topics related to data collection and data management. These
courses became more technical as time progressed and covered different topics in econometrics.
Immediately after the completion of Dr. Szyrmer’s first mission with FRP II, efforts proceeded at the SEPD
to improve the quality of the aforementioned data set, in terms of adding more series and properly
documenting the data sources. Work on the macro-fiscal model also continued after Dr. Szyrmer’s
departure, with SEPD staff improving the number of equations and equations’ specifications.
Dr. Szyrmer’s accomplishments would not have been possible without the endless support and efforts from
the SEPD staff: Dr. Metri Mdanat (Acting Director), Ms. Abeer Amerah, Dr. Hanadi Refai, Ms. Amani
Jaber, Mr. Najem Gharaibeh, Ms. Fadwa Duraini, Ms. Sawsan Husami, Ms. Hala Samhouri, Mr. Abdullah
Obeidat, Mr. Ameen Osoufi, and Mr. Amer Manasrah.
Activity 4: Cost Benefit Analysis for the Central Manifest Project
Component C Advisor, Dr. Usamah Al Farhan, completed the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) for the Central
Manifest project that proposes linking the Amman Customs Office with Jaber’s border office. The analysis
concludes that the project is economically feasible, as it is expected to return a net present value of JD1.35
million during the period 2011 – 2025. Several sensitivity checks reveal robustness of the results to certain
changes in the assumptions underlying the analysis. Particularly, increasing the project’s costs by 10%,
ceteris paribus, the net present value is JD 0.99 million. Reducing time savings for red-lane declarations by
33%, ceteris paribus, returns a net present value of JD 0.35 million. Finally, reducing the growth rate of redlane
declarations by 33%, ceteris paribus, produces a net present value of JD 0.76 million.
The final draft of the analysis was sent to the Component D team and is in the final stages of translation into
Arabic. The CBA study will be used as part of the training material for the CBA training to be conducted
during this year.
Activity 5: Ministry of Finance staff taking English language placement tests
In junction with the American Language Center (ALC), Component C supported 66 MOF staff who took the
English language placement test on December 18. The request to improve English language skills for MOF
employees came directly from the SG. FRP II strongly supports this initiative as it will contribute to the
realization of long-term objectives for capacity building at MOF. Component C Lead, Dr. Khalid Al-
Hmoud, worked with counterparts from the HR Directorate, namely; Dr. Ahmad Kasasbeh (Director) and
Mr. Abdulmajeed Fahmawy, to manage and properly execute this activity.
In order to ensure commitment from all involved parties, specific rules and instructions were set to assure
the success of this activity. These instructions clearly defined absence policy, pass/fail grades in sub-levels,
course timing, etc, and will ensure that FRP II funds only those students who are really committed to
improving their skills.
Activity 6: Fiscal decentralization in Jordan discussed at the Economist Roundtable Meeting
On December 15, Mr. Najem Gharaibeh from SEPD, delivered his research on a Fiscal Decentralization
Strategy for Jordan at the second Economist Roundtable. The research paper was co-authored with
renowned fiscal decentralization experts at Georgia State University (GSU) and came after Mr. Ghraibeh’s
FRP II-sponsored two-month stay at GSU.
USAID-funded Fiscal Reform II Project Monthly Report December 2010 14