Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Interactions of economic, political and cultural populism

Economic populism often leads to political and cultural populism, according to this column, the final one in a series of ...


Vulnerable workers in MENA a year into the pandemic

How are labour markets in the Middle East and North Africa performing a year into the pandemic? This column assesses ...


Economic and political populism – and an application to Turkey

Populist governments often practice ‘election economics’, boosting public spending ahead of a vote to attract more support and reining it ...


Three types of populism: economic, political and cultural

Governments that stimulate the economy before elections by increasing transfer payments, authoritarian leaders who suppress opposition and undermine institutions that ...


Kuwaiti small businesses after the pandemic: time for a new social contract

Has the Covid-19 outbreak been a blessing in disguise for the social contract for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in ...


Improving access to finance and social cohesion in MENA

The Covid-19 crisis is exacerbating income inequalities in the Middle East and North Africa, pushing many vulnerable people into poverty ...


Oil rents and Iran’s middle class

Iran’s middle class has experienced persistent expansion over the past 50 years, excluding the period coinciding with revolutionary turmoil and ...


Covid-19 impacts could be severe and long-lasting for developing countries

The United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs, of which ERF Managing Director Ibrahim Elbadawi is a ...