Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Economics in the new age of national security

The growing geopolitical and economic split between the United States and China should prompt a paradigm shift in economic thinking. ...


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 ...


Corruption and internal conflict in Iran

To what extent does increased corruption in a country lead to greater levels of internal conflict in the form of ...


The true size of Africa and why it matters

The African continent is much larger than it appears on standard maps of the world. As explained in this column, ...


Employment in MENA during the pandemic: persistent inequality

While employment rates in countries in the Middle East and North Africa have largely recovered since the initial shock of ...


Women’s employment and care work in MENA during the pandemic

Across the world, Covid-19 and associated policy measures that closed schools and nurseries led to increased care work for married ...


Weak pass-through of growth to household incomes in Arab countries

Arab countries are unlikely to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030, even under the best-case scenario of a full ‘pass-through’ of ...


How foreign powers could break Lebanon’s gridlock

It is well known that factionalism and corruption have long stood in the way of the kinds of structural reforms ...