Economic Research Forum (ERF)

Iran: the nuclear deal, currency depreciation and inflation

Iran’s currency has once again fallen against the dollar following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal. This column explores ...


A moonshot for MENA: laying the groundwork for a modern digital economy

A new economic reality is needed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This column proposes a ‘moonshot’, which, ...


Local winners and losers in Erdoğan’s Turkey

Throughout the 2000s, Turkey was portrayed as a model of social and economic success for other countries in the MENA ...


Measuring economic destruction in Syria from outer space

How is Syria’s civil conflict affecting the economy? This column analyses data on night-light intensity measured by satellites to assess ...


Poverty reduction efforts in Iran: the wrecking force of inflation

Iran’s universal cash transfer (UCT) programme plays an important role in fighting poverty. But as this column shows, its real ...


Liberalising road transport markets between Turkey and Europe

The routes that connect Turkey to its most important trading partners in Europe are governed by a system of road ...


Jordan’s labour market: new inputs for informed policy-making

The labour market in Jordan has deteriorated since 2010: informality and irregular employment have increased; the recent social security reform ...


The new normal in the global economy: challenges for MENA

ERF’s annual conference has become the premier regional event for economists of the Middle East. This column previews the 2018 ...