Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Raja Khalidi

Author

Raja Khalidi
Director General, Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS)

Raja Khalidi is the Director General of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) since Nov 2019. Mr. Khalidi was the Research Coordinator at MAS (2016-Nov 2019). He previously worked at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1985 to 2013, and was the Coordinator of its Program of Assistance to the Palestinian people from 2000 to 2006. He spent his last 5 years at UNCTAD as the head of the Office of the Director of the Division of Globalization and Development Strategies, which led UNCTAD’s response to the global economic crisis and its participation in the G-20 process. He was also a consultative member of the Welfare Association (Taawon), a founding member of the Family Relief Fund in Palestine (Geneva), and a member of the MAS Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2013. Mr. Khalidi hold M.Sc. in Development Economics, 1981, from the University of London (SOAS), UK. He prepared and published numerous papers and reports on the economic situation and development policies in the occupied Palestinian territories, and on the Arab economy in Israel.

Content by this Author

The economics of Israeli war aims and strategies

Israel’s response to last October’s Hamas attack has led to widespread death and destruction. This column outlines the impact thus far, including the effects on food scarcity, migration and the Palestinian economy in both Gaza and the West Bank.

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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’.

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.

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.

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.




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