By Aalaa Halaka
Khalid Abu Ismail heads the economic development and poverty section at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA). He is also an ERF Policy Affiliate. Dr. Abu Ismail has collaborated with ERF on a number of research projects; in particular, in this video he highlights a current project focusing on one of ERF’s core research themes: inequality in the MENA region.
The project capitalizes on the collective skills and expertise of the research team to produce a one-of-a-kind joint report that addresses the challenges of multidimensional inequality in the region. The report emphasizes inequality in the education and health sectors across the region, striving to analyze the sources of inequality, and identify critical policy areas where governments can design interventions that address these inequality gaps.
Finally, the report attempts to further trace the implications of inequalities in education and health to the labor market, to identify links to income and expenditure inequality. The project has thus far been very successful and the team is positive that the report will establish a key toolkit for policymakers to address multidimensional inequality in MENA.
The Economic Research Forum’s 25th Annual Conference is held in Kuwait City, on 10-12 March, 2019, under the theme of Knowledge, Research Networks, and Development Policy. . Visit the conference website to find out more about the event and access papers, videos and blogs.
