Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Ronia Hawash

Author

Ronia Hawash
Assistant Professor of Economics, Lacy School of Business

Ronia Hawash (Dr.) is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Lacy School of Business. Hawash holds a Bachelor of Economics from Cairo University (Egypt); a Masters of Economics from the American University in Cairo (Egypt); and a Ph.D. in Economics from Indiana University (USA). Her primary teaching areas are Microeconomics, Economic Development, Health Economics, and Econometrics. Hawash’s main areas of research are focused on socioeconomic problems in developing countries including poverty, inequality, poor health and education outcomes, political conflict and refugees, and climate change. Her research has been published in Applied Economics, Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, International Journal of Happiness and Development, Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, Eurasian Economic Review, International Journal of Development and Conflict, Social Business, and Journal of the Knowledge Economy.

Content by this Author

Food security and child malnutrition in Africa

There is a complex relationship between climate change, food security and children’s nutritional status. This column outlines the research evidence, focusing in particular on the experience of African countries and poorer communities within them.

Climate change: the impact on child malnutrition in the Nile basin

There are complex interactions between climate change, food security and children’s nutritional status. This column summarises new research on these relationships in the context of Egypt, Ethiopia and Uganda, including the role of socio-economic factors in shaping child health, as well as possible routes and biological aspects that could explain their impacts.

Most read

Challenges of conflict and industrial policy for development

How effective is industrial policy as a tool for long-term economic growth and development? Against the backdrop of the conflict currently engulfing the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAAP), a new report argues that while industrial policies are widely used across the region, they can only address market failures and foster growth when they are aligned with country capabilities, implemented with accountability and backed by capable institutions.

The green transition in MENA economies: challenges and policy pathways

The economies of the Middle East and North Africa are at a critical turning point. Global decarbonisation pressures, energy market volatility and technological transformation are increasingly challenging hydrocarbon-based growth models. This column argues that the green transition is not only an environmental necessity but also a strategic economic imperative.

Beyond job creation: how can Egypt’s gender gap in work be closed?

More than 2 million jobs are needed each year to absorb new entrants into Egypt’s labour market and raise the country’s employment rate. The job challenge is even more acute for women, whose labour force participation remains low despite recent gains in education. This column reports on the second Development Dialogue, an ERF–World Bank Group joint initiative, which brought together students, scholars, policy-makers and private sector leaders at the American University in Cairo to consider how the country’s gender gap in work can be closed.

The political economy of algorithms in the Middle East

The Middle East is entering a new political-economic era – one in which algorithms, data and artificial intelligence may become as strategically important as oil once was. Across the region, governments are investing heavily in digital infrastructure, smart governance and AI-driven economic transformation. This column outlines how AI and algorithmic governance are reshaping power, inequality and state capacity in the region.




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