Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Amira El-Shal

Author

Amira El-Shal
Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University

Amira El-Shal is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Cairo University and a Senior Consultant at the African Development Bank. She was an Economic Consultant at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and an Economic Expert at Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation before joining the African Development Bank in 2018. Amira’s research interests include a broad spectrum of health economics subjects including health policy evaluation and behavioral responses during public health crises. Her recent projects also focus on gender gaps in economic participation in low- and middle-income countries, specifically how gender differences in behavior shape differentials in productivity, innovation, addressing market inefficiencies and institutional barriers, among others. Amira received her B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University in 2007, obtained her M.Sc. in Economics from University College London in 2010, and completed her Ph.D. in Economics at City, University of London in 2017. She has a number of peer-reviewed publications and serves as a peer reviewer at Social Science & Medicine.

Content by this Author

Can preparedness for a health disaster change the game?

Disease outbreaks like Ebola and Covid-19 have strong detrimental effects on mortality rates for mothers, infants and young children in low and middle-income countries, both immediately and in the longer term. As this column explains, strengthening preparedness for such emergencies has become more urgent as health disasters continue to erode recent improvements in maternal and child health.

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Arab youth and the future of work

The Arab region’s labour markets are undergoing a triple transformation: demographic, digital and green. As this column explains, whether these forces evolve into engines of opportunity or drivers of exclusion for young people will hinge on how swiftly and coherently policy-makers can align education, technology and employment systems to foster adaptive skills, inclusive institutions and innovation-led pathways to decent work.

Digitalising governance in MENA: opportunities for social justice

Can digital governance promote social justice in MENA – or does it risk deepening inequality and exclusion? This column examines the evolution of digital governance in three sub-regions – Egypt, Jordan and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council – highlighting how data practices, transparency mechanisms and citizen trust shape the social outcomes of technological reform.

Wrong finance in a broken multilateral system: red flags from COP30-Belém

With the latest global summit on climate action recently wrapped up, ambitious COP pledges and initiatives continue to miss delivery due to inadequate commitments, weak operationalisation and unclear reporting systems. As this column reports, flows of climate finance remain skewed: loans over grants; climate mitigation more than climate adaptation; and weak accountability across mechanisms. Without grant-based finance, debt relief, climate-adjusted lending and predictable multilateral flows, implementation of promises will fail.

Why political connections are driving business confidence in MENA

This column reports the findings of a new study of how the political ties of firms in the Middle East and North Africa boost business confidence. The research suggests that this optimism is primarily driven by networked access to credit and lobbying, underscoring the need for greater transparency and institutional reform in corporate governance.

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.




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