Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Mariana Viollaz

Author

Mariana Viollaz
Senior Researcher at the Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS) at UNLP

Mariana Viollaz completed her Ph.D. in Economics from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Argentina. She is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS) at UNLP which specializes in the development of empirical evidence based on micro-data from household surveys of Latin American countries. Viollaz has been a teaching assistant at the graduate and undergraduate level for Labor Economics, Advanced Econometrics and Econometrics at UNLP. Her research is focused on labor and development economics in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a special emphasis on informality in the labor market. She has participated in several institutional reports and her research has been published in the Journal of Economic Inequality, CEPAL Review and in the CEDLAS and the World Bank’s Working Papers series.

Content by this Author

Who can work from home in MENA?

Which jobs can be done from home, who does them and how prevalent are they in different countries? This column reports evidence on working from home in over 50 countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia.

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