Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Ahmed Rashad

Author

Ahmed Rashad
Assistant Professor of Economic Diplomacy, Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, Abu Dhabi

Dr. Ahmed Rashad is an Assistant Professor of Economic Diplomacy at Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy-Abu Dhabi. Prior to joining AGDA, Dr. Rashad was a Senior Economist at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism-Government of Dubai; He served as an Economic Consultant – Rethinking Inequality in Arab Countries Report at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA); as well as an Economic Expert for the Arab Development Portal Project at the United National Development Programme (UNDP). He also served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management in Germany, Dr. Rashad has penned numerous policy writings, research projects, books, and reports for prominent organizations, According to Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) ranking (Nov-2022), Dr. Rashad is ranked among the top 18% of economic authors in Africa and his research has been cited more than 378 times.

Content by this Author

Reformed foreign ownership rules in UAE: the impact on business entry

In an effort to stimulate economic growth and diversify the economy, the government of the United Arab Emirates has recently implemented regulatory reform that allows 100% foreign ownership of companies operating in the country. This column examines the implications of the reform for entry of new firms in Dubai, using unique data on new business licences in the emirate.

Maternal education to curb female genital mutilation: evidence from Egypt

Education is widely considered a protective factor against risky health practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM). This column summarises evidence-based research that evaluates the causal impact of maternal education on FGM outcomes in Egypt, which has the world’s highest number of circumcised women.

No sticks, just carrots: a negative income tax for Egypt

Egypt’s government has provided cash assistance to vulnerable workers during the Covid-19 crisis. As this column explains, there is an opportunity to transform this temporary policy into a rules-based fiscal stimulus or automatic stabiliser that can strengthen the resilience of the Egyptian economy to future downturns. A negative income tax could also reduce informality and help to eradicate extreme poverty.

Most read

Empowering Egypt’s young people for the future of work

Egypt’s most urgent priority is creating more and better jobs for its growing youth population. This column reports on the first Development Dialogue, an ERF–World Bank joint initiative, which brought together students, scholars, policy-makers and private sector leaders at Cairo University to confront the country’s labour market challenge. The conversation explored why youth inclusion matters, what the data show and how dialogue and the forthcoming Country Economic Memorandum can inform practical pathways to accelerate job creation.

Preparing youth for the workforce of the future

As economies undergo rapid digital and green transformations, young people face a growing mismatch between their skills and what the modern labour market needs. This column argues that enabling youth to compete in the workforce of the future requires systemic reforms in education, skills formation and labour market institutions, especially in developing economies.

Connectivity and conflict: understanding the risks of inequality in the Middle East

While high inequality does not always lead to conflict, new research reported in this column shows that widespread internet access acts as a catalyst, transforming economic grievances into political instability. For policy-makers in the Middle East and North Africa, this means that as digital connectivity expands, the security costs of ignoring economic disparities rise dramatically. The combination of idle youth, high inequality and high-speed internet is a volatile mix.

The political economy of stalled structural reforms in MENA

There is a persistent pattern to the structural reforms that are required to underpin economic progress in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa: ambitious strategies are announced and partially implemented, but ultimately they are diluted or reversed. This column argues that the repeated stalling of reform is not primarily a failure of economic design. Rather, it reflects deep-seated political economy constraints rooted in rent dependence, elite bargaining and weak institutional credibility. Without addressing these underlying dynamics, reform efforts are likely to remain symbolic rather than transformative.

Closing the gender gap in political participation in MENA

Women across the Middle East and North Africa participate less than men in politics – not only in political parties and elections, but also in petitions, boycotts, protests and strikes. This column reports evidence from ten countries showing that differences in education, employment and political attitudes explain part of this disparity, yet a significant gender gap remains.




Linkedin