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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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.

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.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

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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