Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Hala Abou-Ali

Editorial board

Hala Abou-Ali
Vice President, Institute of National Planning and a Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Political Science (FEPS), Cairo University

Hala Abou-Ali is the Vice President of the Institute of National Planning, a Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science (FEPS), Cairo University and a Research Fellow at the Economic Research Forum specialized in environmental and development economics with focus on the economic value and modelling of environmental resources in developing countries. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Gothenburg University, Sweden. Abou-Ali served as the Branch Campus President of the University of London hosted by the European Universities in Egypt (EUE) and as the Programme Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) at EUE from 2019 to 2022. Abou-Ali also worked as the director of the French Section at FEPS, Cairo University, from 2012 to 2015. She was appointed as the Secretary General of the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood in 2015. Abou-Ali is a former Member of the Egyptian Parliament. She was elected as the President of the Forum of Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development for the 2016-2018 round and as Co-chair of the Global Networks of Road Safety Legislators 2019-2021. Abou-Ali joined the Economic Research Forum (ERF) in 2008 on a part time basis to take the lead on the work carried out on environmental economics in the MENA region. Starting January 2014 to August 2015, she led the Open Access Micro Data Initiative (OAMDI). She is an ERF Research Fellow. She has published several articles in internationally refereed journals and edited Economic incentives and environmental regulation: evidence from the MENA region (Edward Elgar 2012). She has accumulated experience in the economic value and modelling of environmental resources in developing countries, with a particular focus on water and air pollution and agricultural land degradation. She has also worked on issues such as climate change, impact evaluation of investments, poverty assessment, education, health, the Millennium Development Goals, and the Sustainable Development Goals for UNDP, UNFPA, WHO, and World Bank.

Content by this Author

The green energy transition: employment pathways for MENA

The potential employment impacts of green and renewable energy in the Middle East and North Africa are multifaceted and promising. As this column explains, embracing renewable energy technologies presents an opportunity for the region to diversify its economy, mitigate the possible negative impacts of digitalisation on existing jobs, reduce its carbon footprint and create significant levels of employment across a variety of sectors. Green energy is not just an environmental imperative but an economic necessity.

Food security and child malnutrition in Africa

There is a complex relationship between climate change, food security and children’s nutritional status. This column outlines the research evidence, focusing in particular on the experience of African countries and poorer communities within them.

Climate change: the impact on child malnutrition in the Nile basin

There are complex interactions between climate change, food security and children’s nutritional status. This column summarises new research on these relationships in the context of Egypt, Ethiopia and Uganda, including the role of socio-economic factors in shaping child health, as well as possible routes and biological aspects that could explain their impacts.

Most read

Global value chains and sustainable development

What is the role of exchange rate undervaluation in promoting participation in global value chains by firms in developing countries? What is the impact of the stringency of national environmental regulations on firms’ GVC participation? And how do firms’ political connections affect their participation in GVCs? These questions will be explored for the MENA region at a special session of the ERF annual conference, which takes place in Cairo in April 2025.

Adoption of decentralised solar energy: lessons from Palestinian households

The experience of Palestinian households offers a compelling case study of behavioural adaptation to energy poverty via solar water heater adoption. This column highlights the key barriers to solar energy adoption in terms of both the socio-economic status and dwellings of potential users. Policy-makers need to address these barriers to ensure a just and equitable transition, particularly for households in conflict-affected areas across the MENA region.

Migration, human capital and labour markets in MENA

Migration is a longstanding and integral part of the MENA region’s economic and social fabric, with profound implications for labour markets and human capital development. To harness the potential of migration for promoting economic and social development, policy-makers must aim to deliver mutual benefits for origin countries, host countries and migrants. Such a triple-win strategy requires better data, investment in return migration, skill partnerships, reduced remittance costs and sustained support for host countries.

Shifting gears: how the private sector can be an engine of growth in MENA

Businesses are a key source of productivity growth, innovation and jobs. But in the Middle East and North Africa, the private sector is not dynamic and the region has a long history of low growth. This column summarises a new report explaining how a brighter future for MENA’s private sector is within reach if governments rethink their role and firms harness talent effectively.




Linkedin