AlQuds Center Holds its Second Advanced Training Workshop for Political Parties on Economic Analysis Skills

Under the program title “Strengthening Political Parties' Capacities to Build their Political and Economic Platforms,” conducted by the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies in cooperation and partnership with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the second specialized training workshop on the skills of economic analysis was held at the Kempenski Hotel – Amman with the participation of 27 leaders and staff of a group of political parties of all partisan directives.

Director of the Studies’ Unit at Al-Quds Center and Hala Abu Ghazaleh from Konrad Adenauer opened the workshop and welcomed the participants. They explained the importance of this workshop within the series of workshops in the Program to Strengthen the Capacities of Parties. Training in this workshop was delivered by the Economic Consultant and Developmental Planning Expert Dr. Ahmad Shagran. 

The training workshop included three sessions, the first of which started with an introduction to Economics with a special focus on the modern classical thought exploring the optimal use of relatively limited (rare) economic resources in order to produce goods and services to fulfill the endless needs of individuals and the community as a whole. The first session included a definition of economic concepts and terms such as Economics as an Experimental Science, the Economic Problem, Objective Economics and Standard Economics, Ingredients of Production, Economic Efficiency and Productive Efficiency, Potentials of Production and Limited Resources, Macro and Micro Economy, the Market and Forces of the Market, and the Circular Flow Pattern of Income and Production. 

Moreover, the workshop covered the key economic indicators including the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, the internal gap, the external gap, and the public debt. It also covered the economic schemes of capitalism and socialism, the overlap in terms of their principles and attributes, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Moreover, what can be called as the economic vision of Islam was introduced in terms of the explanation that Islam gives for the economic problem and how it handles it. 

In its second session, the workshop focused on the tools to build economic plans, especially the balance of all types, the pattern of inputs and outputs, and the method of linear programming. The workshop covered the topic of planning in the socialist and capitalist schemes and in the third world. The workshop discussed the methodologies of data analysis at the national and sub-national levels, analysis of the relative significance, and the tools to collect data.

The third session highlighted the success stories of applying the economic schemes in the experiences of some countries, the economic role of parties, the fixed and varied facts, deformations (flaws) of the national economy, requirements and core standards for the aspired Jordanian economic reform, and the economic and developmental role of political parties. 

Participants expressed appreciation for the topics of the workshop, describing it as the first time they received a quality training on such topics, and expressing that the training process helped them review the major attributes of the Jordanian economy and the challenges that it faces. The majority of participants tended to consider the mixed economy scheme as the most relevant scheme for the Jordanian case. They expressed their wish to participate in the remaining workshops within the advanced training program taking place this year. 

It is worth mentioning here that the previous workshop organized by Al-Quds Center in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer and the above mentioned program, tackled the issue of “the Intellectual and Programmatic Identity of a Political Party”, and the need for a party to make such an identity visible. There were 25 participants in that workshop including leaders and staff of 13 political parties.

For photos of the event, click the following link:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jukXye6IFwXMBMTF3