Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Landry Signé

Author

Landry Signé
David M. Rubenstein Fellow - Global Economy and Development, Africa Growth Initiative

Landry Signé is a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. He joins the Africa Growth Initiative where his research focuses on the political economy of growth, sustainable development, governance, fragile and failed states, regional integration, and business in Africa. Professor Signé is a distinguished fellow at Stanford University’s Center for African Studies, chairman of the Global Network for Africa’s Prosperity, an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, a 2016 Woodrow Wilson Public Policy Fellow, and a professor and senior adviser on international affairs to the chancellor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He serves as special adviser to world leaders on international and African affairs.

Content by this Author

Africa youth leadership: building local leaders to solve global challenges

Accountable leadership is one of the biggest challenges to development in Africa. This Brookings column argues that the young people of the continent need to take more places in presidencies, councils of ministers, parliaments, national committees, corporate boardrooms and civil society.

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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.

Untapped talent, unrealised growth: jobs and women in the MENAAP region

Only around one in five women of working age participate in the labour markets of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan. As this column explains, the region can no longer afford to leave half its human capital underused. Expanding women’s labour force participation is central to growth and resilience in the face of looming demographic change.

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.

Labour demand and informal employment in Egypt’s manufacturing sector

Egypt’s manufacturing sector faces a dual challenge of weak job creation and persistent informality. Drawing on survey evidence on business behaviour and labour market dynamics, this column explains why job creation is limited and informal work remains such an integral part of how firms organise production. The generation of more formal jobs requires a comprehensive policy approach, one that goes beyond enforcement of labour regulations to reshape the economic environment in which firms and workers make decisions.




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