Ahmed Elsayed
Associate Professor, Economics Department and Executive Director of J-PAL MENA, American University in CairoAUC
Ahmed Elsayed is an Associate Professor of Economics at the American University in Cairo (AUC) and the Executive Director of J-PAL MENA at AUC. In this capacity, he plays a crucial role in J-PAL MENA's operations by providing strategic and technical oversight to research, policy outreach, and capacity-building activities. His role involves guiding the strategic direction and growth of the organization and cultivating partnerships with innovative policymakers across the MENA region to foster evidence generation and usage. Before joining AUC and J-PAL in 2022, Ahmed spent eight years at the IZA- Institute of Labor Economics in Germany and held various positions in the institute including co-coordinating the research activities of the special program area "Gender, Growth, and Labor Markets in Low-Income Countries (G²LM|LIC)". He holds a PhD in Economics and MSc in Business Research from the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands. Prior to PhD, Ahmed worked as a Researcher under the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) Research Assistantship program. His main research interests are in development economics, applied micro-econometrics, migration, and labor economics. He is particularly interested in the intersection between research and policy in the area of development economics.
Areas of Interest:
- Applied Econometrics
- Development
- Labor
- Migration
- Experimental Economics
Education:
- Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015
- M.Phil. Business Research, Maastricht University, 2010
- B.Sc. Commerce, Zagazig University (Egypt), with honors, 2005
Experience:
- Executive Director, J-PAL MENA, American University in Cairo, 2023 - Present
- Associate Professor, American University in Cairo, 2022 - Present
- Deputy Program Director of research area "Labor & Development", IZA, 2015 – 2018
- Research Associate, IZA, 2014 – 2017
Latest Publications:
- The Women Empowering Effect of Higher Education, Journal of Development Economics, 163, 2023 (with A. Shirshikova)
- Economic Development and the Organisation of Labour: Evidence from the Jobs of the World Project, Journal of the European Economic Association, 2022, 20(6), 2226 - 2270 (with O. Bandiera, A. Heil, and A. Smurra)
- Youths, Jobs and the Development of Africa, Journal of Economic Perspective, 2022, 36 (1), 81-100 (with O. Bandiera, A. Smurra, and C. Zipfel) Empowering women in conservative settings: evidence from an intervention in rural Egypt, Review of Economics of the Household, 2022, 20, 1287–1322 (with S. Namoro and R. Roushdy)
Multilayer Information Spillover Networks Between Oil Shocks and Banking Sectors: Evidence from Oil-Rich Countries
Areas of Interest: Applied Econometrics Development Labor Migration Experimental Economics Education: Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015 M.Phil. Business... Read More
March, 2022
ERF 28th Annual ConferenceTerrorism, Mental Health, Risky Behaviors and Human Capital: Evidence from Iraq
Areas of Interest: Applied Econometrics Development Labor Migration Experimental Economics Education: Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015 M.Phil. Business... Read More
December, 2020
Working PapersTerrorism, Mental Health, Risky Behaviors and Human Capital: Evidence from Iraq
Areas of Interest: Applied Econometrics Development Labor Migration Experimental Economics Education: Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015 M.Phil. Business... Read More
October, 2020
Project Draft PaperThe Women Empowering Effect of Higher Education
Areas of Interest: Applied Econometrics Development Labor Migration Experimental Economics Education: Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015 M.Phil. Business... Read More
August, 2020
ERF 26th Annual ConferenceMigration Shocks and Housing: Evidence from the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan
Areas of Interest: Applied Econometrics Development Labor Migration Experimental Economics Education: Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015 M.Phil. Business... Read More
June, 2018
Working PapersThe Micro-Level Analysis of the Impact of Violent Conflict on Lives and Livelihoods in the MENA Region
Areas of Interest: Applied Econometrics Development Labor Migration Experimental Economics Education: Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015 M.Phil. Business... Read More
2018-09-01
Revisiting Macroeconomic Management in Times of Crisis and Beyond – Parallel Sessions – March 26
Areas of Interest: Applied Econometrics Development Labor Migration Experimental Economics Education: Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015 M.Phil. Business... Read More
Mar 26, 2022
Dialogues on the Future of Work in the Global South: Building narratives from the Middle East and North Africa
Areas of Interest: Applied Econometrics Development Labor Migration Experimental Economics Education: Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015 M.Phil. Business... Read More
Jul 26, 2021
ERF 26th Annual Conference: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a Framework for MENA’s Development Policy
Areas of Interest: Applied Econometrics Development Labor Migration Experimental Economics Education: Ph.D. Economics, Maastricht University, 2015 M.Phil. Business... Read More
Jun 23, 2020