Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Shahid Yusuf

Author

Shahid Yusuf
Chief Economist, Growth Dialogue. Washington DC; Non-Resident Fellow Center for Global Development

Shahid Yusuf is Chief Economist of The Growth Dialogue at the George Washington University, School of Business in Washington DC; and Non-Resident Fellow of the Center for Global Development in Washington DC. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University, and a BA in Economics from Cambridge University. Prior to joining the Growth Dialogue, Dr. Yusuf was on the staff of the World Bank. During his 35-year tenure at the World Bank, Dr. Yusuf was the team leader for the World Bank-Japan project on East Asia’s Future Economy from 2000-2009. He was the Director of the World Development Report 1999/2000, Entering the 21st Century. Prior to that, he was Economic Adviser to the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist (1997-98), Lead Economist for the East Africa Department (1995-97) and Lead Economist for the China and Mongolia Department (1989-1993). From 2016 through 2020, Shahid Yusuf was Adjunct Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) teaching in the China Studies Program. Dr. Yusuf has written extensively on development issues, with a special focus on East Asia and has also published widely in various academic journals. He has authored or edited more than 25 books and monographs on industrial and urban development, innovation systems and tertiary education, many of which have been translated into a number of different languages. His publications include: China and the Global Economy; Development Economics through the Decades; and Under New Ownership:Privatizing China’s State-owned Enterprises (co-authored with Dwight Perkins and Kaoru Nabeshima; His current research is on technology development and on the role of global value chains. Dr Yusuf lives in the Washington DC area and consults with a number of organizations.

Content by this Author

Digital technology and inequality: the Impact on Arab countries

The widespread diffusion of new digital technologies arouses mixed emotions: hopes that it will revive waning productivity growth; and fears that it will displace workers, particularly the low-skilled and those with less education, and lead to greater inequality. This column summarises new evidence on the likely impact of technological change in the Arab countries, and how governments should think about responding.

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Empowering Egypt’s young people for the future of work

Egypt’s most urgent priority is creating more and better jobs for its growing youth population. This column reports on the first Development Dialogue, an ERF–World Bank joint initiative, which brought together students, scholars, policy-makers and private sector leaders at Cairo University to confront the country’s labour market challenge. The conversation explored why youth inclusion matters, what the data show and how dialogue and the forthcoming Country Economic Memorandum can inform practical pathways to accelerate job creation.

Preparing youth for the workforce of the future

As economies undergo rapid digital and green transformations, young people face a growing mismatch between their skills and what the modern labour market needs. This column argues that enabling youth to compete in the workforce of the future requires systemic reforms in education, skills formation and labour market institutions, especially in developing economies.

Connectivity and conflict: understanding the risks of inequality in the Middle East

While high inequality does not always lead to conflict, new research reported in this column shows that widespread internet access acts as a catalyst, transforming economic grievances into political instability. For policy-makers in the Middle East and North Africa, this means that as digital connectivity expands, the security costs of ignoring economic disparities rise dramatically. The combination of idle youth, high inequality and high-speed internet is a volatile mix.

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.

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.

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.




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