Inequalities in Jordan before and after the pandemic
Is Covid-19 increasing inequalities in Jordan? This column outlines the main findings of a new report on the impact of the pandemic on inequality in expenditure, incomes and educational opportunities and outcomes.
Inequality of income and education in Jordan
The global pandemic seems likely to result in greater inequality across multiple dimensions, including income, education, gender and geography. This column reports pre-crisis evidence from Jordan on the extent of income inequality, inequality in educational outcomes and inequality in educational opportunities. Proposed policy responses include investing in education; awareness campaigns; ensuring equal access to the internet and social security; subsidising school supplies conditional on parental income and wealth; and imposing stricter measures to combat child labour.
Economies of agglomeration and firm productivity in Egypt
There is a strong body of international evidence that firms are more productive when they cluster near one another geographically. This column reports new findings on the substantial productivity benefits of such agglomeration in Egypt. The results have important implications for policy, including the value of establishing specialised industrial zones for promising business clusters with high growth potential.