Economic Research Forum (ERF)

October

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.

Maternal education to curb female genital mutilation: evidence from Egypt

Education is widely considered a protective factor against risky health practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM). This column summarises evidence-based research that evaluates the causal impact of maternal education on FGM outcomes in Egypt, which has the world’s highest number of circumcised women.

Europe’s carbon pricing plans: potential effects on Turkey’s economy

The European Union’s newly introduced carbon border adjustment mechanism will have considerable effects on outside countries’ bilateral trade with the region. As this column explains, the European Green Deal and other new EU regulations, such as the circular economy action plan, will force trading partners to be more active on climate policy. It is in the interest of those countries to establish national emission trading systems (linked to the EU’s existing scheme), which would minimise the possible costs.

Civil conflicts and exchange rate misalignment

Civil conflicts can have devastating effects on a country’s population, physical capital and real sector. This column summarises new research that assesses the effect of civil conflicts on misalignment of the real exchange rate and concludes that the monetary and financial sectors are also affected by civil conflicts. The resulting currency overvaluation, in real terms, has strong implications for the post-conflict transition.

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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.




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