Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Rana Hendy

Author

Rana Hendy
Assistant Professor and Director of the Master Program in Public Policy, Public Policy and Administration Department, The American University in Cairo, Egypt

Rana Hendy is currently an Assistant Professor and Director of the Master Program in Public Policy, Public Policy and Administration Department at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Hendy is also a research associate at the Economic Research Forum in Cairo where she served as the thematic director for Equity and Inequality as well as for Gender-related projects between 2012 and 2014. Hendy received her doctorate in labor and development economics from the Paris School of Economics in 2011 and a master degree in labor and demographic economics from the same school.

Content by this Author

Inequalities in Jordan before and after the pandemic

Is Covid-19 increasing inequalities in Jordan? This column outlines the main findings of a new report on the impact of the pandemic on inequality in expenditure, incomes and educational opportunities and outcomes.

Inequality of income and education in Jordan

The global pandemic seems likely to result in greater inequality across multiple dimensions, including income, education, gender and geography. This column reports pre-crisis evidence from Jordan on the extent of income inequality, inequality in educational outcomes and inequality in educational opportunities. Proposed policy responses include investing in education; awareness campaigns; ensuring equal access to the internet and social security; subsidising school supplies conditional on parental income and wealth; and imposing stricter measures to combat child labour.

Getting more women into employment in Egypt

Despite significant increases in women’s education and health indicators in Egypt, their rate of labour force participation remains one of the lowest in the world. This column explains how marriage acts as an obstacle for women taking jobs in the private sector, and outlines potential remedies to the ‘marriage mismatch’.

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Private capital and financial innovation in Egypt’s clean energy transition

The Benban Solar Park, Africa’s biggest photovoltaic power station, demonstrates Egypt’s ability to attract foreign investment, implement complex infrastructure projects and align its energy goals with environmental sustainability. As this column explains, the next stage of the country’s clean energy transition requires a diversified financial ecosystem, together with committed and well-coordinated policy support.

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.

The rising threat of water and food insecurity in MENA

The Middle East and North Africa is rapidly becoming the global epicentre of water and food insecurity. Drawing on regional evidence and global comparisons, this column identifies urgent priorities and offers policy strategies to strengthen resilience in this particularly climate-stressed part of the world before the crisis deepens further. The tools exist: what is needed is the political will and coordinated action to use them.

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.

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.

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.




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