Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Diana Bashur

Author

Diana Bashur
Secretary, Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) and PhD candidate, University of Vienna

After working for the UN and other international agencies in development and political analysis in New York, Vienna and Damascus, Diana returned to university to research a different approach to peacebuilding. Currently a PhD candidate at the University of Vienna, she is looking into basic income as a tool for peacebuilding with a focus on the Middle East and a particular interest in its potential for social cohesion. She is also Secretary of the Basic Income Earth Network (https://basicincome.org/executive-committee/), an international charity aimed at promoting an informed discussion about Basic Income.

Content by this Author

What would a basic income mean for the Arab world?

The idea of a regular, unconditional and individual cash payment distributed to all citizens is gaining ground. This column argues that such a basic income would ensure that everyone is able to meet their basic needs unconditionally, thereby improving people’s resilience and solidifying communities. Ultimately, a basic income could help to rebuild the social contract in the Arab world where governments would uphold human dignity by awarding citizens economic security as a right.

Most read

Artificial intelligence and the renewable energy transition in MENA

Artificial intelligence has the potential to bridge the gap between abundant natural resources and the pressing need for reliable, sustainable power in the Middle East and North Africa. This column outlines the constraints and proposes policies that can address the challenges of variability of renewable resources and stress on power grids, and support the transformation of ‘sunlight’ to ‘smart power’.

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.




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