Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Lidia Ceriani

Author

Lidia Ceriani
Associate Teaching Professor

Lidia Ceriani is Assistant Teaching Professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. Prior to joining the faculty at Georgetown, she was an Economist at the World Bank in the Poverty and Equity global practice and more recently a team member of the 2017 World Development Report. Between 2007 and 2012, she was a lecturer at Bocconi University where she taught Public Economics and Principles of Economics. She has published in several international journals including the Journal of Economics, the Journal of Economic Inequality, the Journal of Development Studies, Social Indicators Research and the International Journal of Microsimulation. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Economics from the University of Pavia, Italy and a B.A. in Economic and Social Sciences from Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, where she graduated with highest honors. Her research interests include the measurement of poverty and inequality and the impact of public policies on household welfare.

Content by this Author

Bottom incomes and the measurement of poverty and inequality

With negative and zero incomes being widely reported in household surveys, it is essential to understanding who is reporting them in order to generate a consistent ordering among households, and measure poverty and inequality accurately. This column summaries evidence from an investigation of the prevalence and consequences of non-positive incomes using 57 harmonised surveys covering 12 Mediterranean countries over the period 1995-2016.

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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.

Challenges of conflict and industrial policy for development

How effective is industrial policy as a tool for long-term economic growth and development? Against the backdrop of the conflict currently engulfing the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAAP), a new report argues that while industrial policies are widely used across the region, they can only address market failures and foster growth when they are aligned with country capabilities, implemented with accountability and backed by capable institutions.

The green transition in MENA economies: challenges and policy pathways

The economies of the Middle East and North Africa are at a critical turning point. Global decarbonisation pressures, energy market volatility and technological transformation are increasingly challenging hydrocarbon-based growth models. This column argues that the green transition is not only an environmental necessity but also a strategic economic imperative.

Beyond job creation: how can Egypt’s gender gap in work be closed?

More than 2 million jobs are needed each year to absorb new entrants into Egypt’s labour market and raise the country’s employment rate. The job challenge is even more acute for women, whose labour force participation remains low despite recent gains in education. This column reports on the second Development Dialogue, an ERF–World Bank Group joint initiative, which brought together students, scholars, policy-makers and private sector leaders at the American University in Cairo to consider how the country’s gender gap in work can be closed.




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