Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Nadine Yamout

Author

Nadine Yamout
Assistant Professor of Economics, American University of Beirut

Nadine Yamout received her PhD in Economics in 2019 from the University of New South Wales, Australia. She holds an MA in Financial Economics and a BA in Economics from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics at the American University of Beirut. Prior to that, Nadine was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Sydney between 2021-2022 and a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Sydney between 2019-2020. Her research interests include open economy macroeconomics, applied macroeconometrics, and monetary and fiscal policies, with a focus on understanding the behavior of economies undergoing structural changes. Her current research focuses on the implications of a slowdown in growth for fiscal policy, the role of structural transformation in driving the dynamics of unemployment in open economies, and debt sustainability analysis in developing economies.

Content by this Author

Fiscal limits and debt sustainability in MENA economies

Public debt is piling up across the Middle East and North Africa after years of political upheavals, economic shocks and the Covid-19 pandemic. With fiscal space shrinking, governments are under pressure to act. This column explains why for many countries in the region, the room for manoeuvre on the public finances may be smaller than policy-makers think. Urgent action is needed to restore debt sustainability.

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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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