Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Ahmad Awad

Author

Ahmad Awad
General Director, Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies

Ahmad Awad is the founder and director of the Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies, based in Amman, Jordan. He has dedicated most of his professional life to the promotion and defending of human rights, with particular emphasis on socio-economic human rights. Ahmad Awad holding an MA in International Political Economy. He is a member of many civil society networks and coalitions locally, regionally and internationally. In 2018 honored by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as an exceptional defender of human rights on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition, Ahmed writes a weekly economic column in the Al-Ghad Jordanian newspaper, and in November 2020, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Arab Watch Coalition.

Content by this Author

The hidden potential of Jordan’s small firms for driving a green transition

For Jordan, a green transition represents an enormous transformative opportunity. But a decade-long increase in the use of renewable energy has not freed the country of its economic woes. This column explores the currently underused yet potentially powerful force of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises – and proposes policies that could improve the investment climate and clear legislative and regulatory barriers.

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Beyond job creation: how can Egypt’s gender gap in work be closed?

More than 2 million jobs are needed each year to absorb new entrants into Egypt’s labour market and raise the country’s employment rate. The job challenge is even more acute for women, whose labour force participation remains low despite recent gains in education. This column reports on the second Development Dialogue, an ERF–World Bank Group joint initiative, which brought together students, scholars, policy-makers and private sector leaders at the American University in Cairo to consider how the country’s gender gap in work can be closed.

Digitalisation, global value chains and regional integration in MENA & SSA

Participation in global value chains is vital for countries pursuing structural transformation and inclusive economic development. This column summarises new evidence on how much production processes have been globalised in Africa and the Middle East relative to other regions; whether this process has taken place with partners within or outside the region; and whether it has taken place more in manufacturing or services.

The political economy of algorithms in the Middle East

The Middle East is entering a new political-economic era – one in which algorithms, data and artificial intelligence may become as strategically important as oil once was. Across the region, governments are investing heavily in digital infrastructure, smart governance and AI-driven economic transformation. This column outlines how AI and algorithmic governance are reshaping power, inequality and state capacity in the region.

How trade policy can reduce MENA’s cereal import vulnerability

Heavy dependence on imported cereals, combined with climate change, water scarcity and geopolitical uncertainty, continues to threaten food resilience across MENA. This column explains how an inclusive trade policy can play a key role in making the region’s food security less vulnerable to shocks.




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