News

The Economic Research Forum’s (ERF) Annual Conference, a tradition maintained since 1995, has become the premier regional event for economists of the Middle East..more

By Alessia Lo Turco and Daniela Maggioni Does religious affinity help firms to get access to foreign markets? This column reports evidence that sharing Islamic beliefs with potential customers abroad eases..more

By Sherine F. Ghoneim and Romesh Vaitilingam The Forum, a policy portal for the Middle East and North Africa, was launched in October 2017 with the aim of becoming ‘the platform’ for rich and relevant debates..more

By Charles Calomiris, Mauricio Larrain and Sergio Schmukler Studies of the relationship between foreign investor participation in public equity markets and aggregate economic activity in emerging economies find strong effects on productivity..more

By Ali Akarca and Aysit Tansel Well-functioning democracies and economies require voters that evaluate the economic performance of governments and reward or punish them accordingly..more  

By Hajer El Ouardani and Samir Makdisi Different circumstances offer different opportunities for the emergence of populism. This column contrasts the rise of populist movements in the established democracies of the..more

By Çağatay Bircan Evidence is mixed on the effects of multinational activity on productivity and competitiveness in host economies. This column provides new evidence that previous estimates..more