Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Nasser Dine Mohamedou

Author

Nasser Dine Mohamedou
Economist, Public Policy Specialist, and Data Scientist

Mohamedou Nasser Dine is Mauritania's economist, public policy specialist, and data scientist. He holds a Ph.D. in International Public Policy from Osaka University, Japan, specializing in spatial econometrics and its applications in labor economics and trade. His doctoral dissertation was titled "Spatial Econometrics and its Applications in Labor Economics." Mohamedou earned a Master's degree in Financial Mathematics from Mohammed V University in Morocco. Throughout his academic career, He has published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Japanese Economic Review, the Journal of Economic Integration, and the African Education Review. He has also authored several policy briefs and columns published in the Economic Research Forum. Mohamedou has served as a Project Manager and Head of the Accelerator Lab at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Mauritania and Economic and Banking specialist with UNDP IICPSD in Istanbul. With over seven years of experience in the financial and banking sectors, he has also worked as an economic consultant for the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Jakarta. His research interests include labor economics, international trade, public economics, education, and applied econometrics. Additionally, Mohamedou has worked as a teaching assistant at Osaka University.

Content by this Author

Determinants of school attendance in Mauritania

What are the determinants of school attendance in Mauritania? This column reports on analysis of data from the country’s 2019 National Household Survey, which highlights how factors like gender, age, residency and access to resources such as phones and national identification influence school attendance. The research findings offer insights into the challenges of ensuring equitable access to education and provide a basis for targeted policy interventions.

National economic institutions and participation in the global value chain

The economic institutions of a country – including property rights, business freedom and government integrity – play a central role in determining the extent of its participation in the global value chain. This column reports new research findings on associations between eight economic institutions and integration into international trade networks in a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Employment, global value chains and spillover effects in Turkey

Firms’ involvement in global value chains is increasing rapidly and it is vital for policy-makers to understand the direct effects on domestic employment, as well as spillover effects on the economy. This column sheds light on participation trends in Turkey and its repercussions for jobs.

Productivity, global value chains and cross-industry spillovers in Turkey

Participation in global value chains is widely understood to have positive effects on firms’ productivity. Less appreciated is the significance of input-output interlinkages between industrial sectors as sources of productivity spillovers. This column explores the magnitude of these effects for industries in Turkey.

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Sanctions and the shrinking size of Iran’s middle class

International sanctions imposed on Iran from 2012 have reduced the size of the country’s middle class, according to new research summarised in this column. The findings highlight the profound social consequences of economic pressure, not least given the crucial role of that segment of society for national innovation, growth and stability. The study underscores the need for policies to safeguard the civilian population in countries targeted by sanctions.

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’.

Green jobs for MENA in the age of AI: crafting a sustainable labour market

Arab economies face a dual transformation: the decarbonisation imperative driven by climate change; and the rapid digitalisation brought by artificial intelligence. This column argues that by strategically managing the green-AI nexus, policy-makers in the region can position their countries not merely as followers adapting to global mandates but as leaders in sustainable innovation.

Egypt’s forgotten democratisation: a challenge to modern myths about MENA

A widely held narrative asserts that countries in the Middle East are inevitably authoritarian. This column reports new research that tracks Egyptian parliamentarians since 1824 to reveal that the region’s struggle with democracy is not in fact about cultural incompatibility: it’s about colonialism disrupting home-grown democratic movements and elite conflicts being resolved through disenfranchisement rather than power-sharing.

MENA integration into global value chains and sustainable development

Despite the geopolitical advantages, abundant natural resources and young populations of many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, they remain on the periphery of global value chains, the international networks of production and service activities that now dominate the world economy. This column explains the positive impact of integration into GVCs on exports and employment; its role in technology transfer and capacity upgrading; and the structural barriers that constrain the region’s involvement. Greater GVC participation can help to deliver structural transformation and sustainable development.

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.

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.

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.




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