Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali

Author

Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali
Assistant Professor, University of Kassala

Mohammed Elhaj Mustafa Ali is a Sudanese national. He is assistant professor at Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Kassala, Sudan. Currently, he holds the position of head Department of Economics at Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Kassala, Sudan. He received his PhD in Economics from the Faculty of Economics and Rural Development, University of Gezira, Sudan in 2016. In 2009, Mustafa got his M.Sc. in Economics from Faculty of Economics and Administration, University Malaya, Malaysia. In 2001 he was awarded a B.Sc. (honors) in Economics from Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, University of Khartoum. His particular fields of specialization are in the areas of Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Health Economics, Labor Economics, Development Economics and International Economics. He has published in nationally and internationally refereed journals.

Content by this Author

Digitalisation: what’s needed in business responses to Covid-19 in MENA

The pandemic caused severe disruptions to the global business environment. This column reports evidence on how different sectors in the Middle East and North Africa have been responding. The focus is particularly on firms’ adoption of digital technologies, as well as policies that might encourage greater digitalisation as an essential business strategy to mitigate the consequences of Covid-19 for the economy.

Chronic illness and the labour market in Arab countries

Chronic illnesses are widespread in the Arab countries – and they have damaging consequences for labour market participation and wider economic performance. Drawing on evidence from Egypt and Tunisia, this column proposes a package of practical actions to protect workers from becoming victims of chronic diseases – and to reduce the losses of income, labour supply and labour productivity.

Protecting households from catastrophic health costs: evidence from Sudan

Out-of-pocket’ (OOP) healthcare expenditure is a heavy burden on household resources in developing countries like Sudan where poverty and illness are widespread. This column proposes a package of practical actions to protect households from becoming victims of OOP expenditure – and to reduce the impoverishment when such expenditure becomes catastrophic.

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Labour market effects of robots: evidence from Turkey

Evidence from developed countries on the impact of automation on labour markets suggests that there can be negative effects on manufacturing jobs, but also mechanisms for workers to move into the services sector. But this narrative may not apply in developing economies. This column reports new evidence from Turkey on the effects of robots on labour displacement and job reallocation.

Global value chains and domestic innovation: evidence from MENA firms

Global interlinkages play a significant role in enhancing innovation by firms in developing countries. In particular, as this column explains, participation in global value chains fosters a variety of innovation activities. Since some countries in the Middle East and North Africa display a downward trend on measures of global innovation, facilitating the GVC participation of firms in the region is a prospective channel for stimulating underperforming innovation.

Food insecurity in Tunisia during and after the Covid-19 pandemic

Labour market instability, rising unemployment rates and soaring food prices due to Covid-19 are among the reasons for severe food insecurity across the world. This grim picture is evident in Tunisia, where the government continues to provide financial and food aid to vulnerable households after the pandemic. But as this column explains, the inadequacy of some public policies is another important factors causing food insecurity.

Sustaining entrepreneurship: lessons from Iran

Does entrepreneurial activity naturally return to long-term average levels after big economic disturbances? This column presents new evidence from Iran on trends in entrepreneurship among various categories of firm size, sector and location – and suggests policies that could be effective in promoting entrepreneurial activities.

Manufacturing firms in Egypt: trade participation and outcomes for workers

International trade can play a large and positive role in boosting economic growth, reducing poverty and making progress towards gender equality. These effects result in part from the extent to which trade is associated with favourable labour market outcomes. This column presents evidence of the effects of Egyptian manufacturing firms’ participation in exporting and importing on their workers’ productivity and average wages, and on women’s employment share.

Intimate partner violence: the impact on women’s empowerment in Egypt

Although intimate partner violence is a well-documented and widely recognised problem, empirical research on its prevalence and impact is scarce in developing countries, including those in the Middle East and North Africa. This column reports evidence from a study of intra-household disparities in Egypt, taking account of attitudes toward gender roles, women’s ownership of assets, and the domestic violence that wives may experience from their husbands.

Do capital inflows cause industrialisation or de-industrialisation?

There is a clear appeal for emerging and developing economies, including those in MENA, to finance investment in manufacturing industry at home with capital inflows from overseas. But as the evidence reported in this column indicates, this is a potentially risky strategy: rather than promoting industrialisation, capital flows can actually lead to lower manufacturing value added and/or a reallocation of resources towards industries with lower technology intensity.

Financial constraints on small firms’ growth: pandemic lessons from Iran

How does access to finance affect the growth of small businesses? This column presents new evidence from Iran before and during the Covid-19 pandemic – and lessons learned by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The economics of Israeli war aims and strategies

Israel’s response to last October’s Hamas attack has led to widespread death and destruction. This column outlines the impact thus far, including the effects on food scarcity, migration and the Palestinian economy in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Happiness in the Arab world: should we be concerned?

Several Arab countries have low rankings in the latest comparative assessment of average happiness across the world. But as this column explains, the average is not a reliable summary statistic when applied to ordinal data. The evidence from more robust analysis of socio-economic inequality in happiness suggests that policy-makers should be less concerned about happiness indicators than the core development objective of more equitable social conditions for citizens.