MEDJ – ERF Middle East Development Journal: December 2020

• Job creation or labor absorption? An analysis of private sector job growth in Egypt

Ragui Assaad, Caroline Krafft & Shaimaa Yassin

Creating jobs, especially good jobs, is one of the greatest challenges facing Egypt. This paper investigates the nature of job growth in Egypt, including the firm, industry, and worker characteristics that are related to job growth. Pages: 177-207

• How does poverty differ among refugees? Taking a gender lens to the data on Syrian refugees in Jordan

Lucia Hanmer, Eliana Rubiano, Julieth Santamaria & Diana J. Arango

Many reports document the hardships experienced by refugees, highlighting that women and children are a highly vulnerable group. However, empirical analysis of how gender inequality impacts poverty among refugees is limited. Pages: 208-242

• Regional and income disparities in cost of living changes: evidence from Egypt

Shireen AlAzzawi

Inflation has been rising in Egypt since 2007, and reached record levels in 2017. It was more pronounced in rural Egypt and likely hurt the poor proportionately more, since rising food prices were a major factor behind higher prices over this period. Pages: 243-267

• Female unemployment in Lebanon: a time series analysis

Casto Martín Montero Kuscevic

This research investigates the relationship between output and unemployment for Lebanon for the post-civil war period. Surprisingly, our results show that unemployment is not contemporaneously affected by changes in gross domestic product (i.e. no Okun’s Law) Pages: 268-283

• Is income inequality reflected in consumption inequality in Iran?

Hamid Noghanibehambari & Masha Rahnamamoghadam

This paper presents a descriptive analysis of the evolution of labor supply, income, and consumption inequality in Iran using the 2005–2015 waves of the survey of Household Expenditure and Income (HIES).  Pages: 284-303

• Learning by exporting or self-selection into exporting?

Youssouf Kiendrebeogo

This paper explores the export-productivity relationship using firm-level data from Egypt over the 2003–2008 period. Previous studies using data from developed countries suggest that self-selection is the main driver of the exporter premium.  Pages: 304-325

• The impact of the recent oil price decline on the GCC banking system

Viviane Naimy & Ruba Kattan

This paper applies the econometric Chow test to determine the impact of the recent oil price decline on the GCC banking system for the period 2011–2017. Structural breaks in the performance of selected sample GCC banks, Saudi, UAE, and Qatar banks  Pages: 326-339

• Public debt and fiscal sustainability: the cyclically adjusted balance in the case of Lebanon

Kassim M. Dakhlallah

Lebanon’s high debt-to-GDP ratio and persistent overall budget deficit expose the entire financial system to vulnerability. Unless the country generates enough revenue to meet its gross financing needs, the prospect of borrowing more remains strong. Pages: 340-359