About
Biography
Ragui Assaad, professor, researches education, labor policy, and labor market analysis in developing countries with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. His current work focuses on inequality of opportunity in education, labor markets, transitions from school-to-work, employment and unemployment dynamics, family formation, informality, labor market responses to economic shocks, international migration, including the effects of forced migration.
Assaad is a Research Fellow of the Economic Research Forum in Cairo, Egypt and serves on its board of trustees. He is also Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, Germany. He served as Regional Director for West Asia and North Africa for the Population Council, based in Cairo, Egypt, from 2005 to 2008.
Assaad has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, the Ford Foundation, UNICEF and UNDP.
Education
PhD in City & Regional Planning (Cornell University, 1991)
BS in Physics (Stanford University, 1981)
MS in Mechanical Engineering (Stanford University, 1981)
Recent Publications
Krafft, C., Assaad, R. & Pastoor, I. (in press). How do gender norms shape education and domestic work outcomes? The case of Syrian refugee adolescents in Jordan, Journal of Development Studies,
Assaad, R., Krafft, C. & Salemi, C. (2022). Socioeconomic Status and the Changing Nature of School-to-Work Transitions in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia, ILR Review,
Krafft, C., Assaad, R., Marouani, M. A., Cheung, R. & LaPlante, A. (in press). Are labour markets in the Middle East and North Africa recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic?, IZA Journal of Development and Migration,
Assaad, R., Krafft, C. & Rolando, D. J. (2021). Evaluating the impact of housing market liberalization on the timing of marriage: Evidence from Egypt, Population Studies, 1--19
Krafft, C., Assaad & Pastoor, I. (2021). How do Gender Norms Shape Education and Domestic Work Outcomes? The Case of Syrian Refugee Adolescents. World Bank: Washington D.C.
Assaad, R. & Marouani, M. A. (2021). Economic Growth and labour Market Outcomes in North Africa: An Overview of Developments in Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, and Tunsia since 2000. Internatioal Labour Organization: Cairo Egypt
Krafft, C., Assaad, R. & Rahman, K. W. (2021). Introducing the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2018, IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 12(1),
Krafft, C. & Assaad, R. (2021). Introducing the Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey 2016, IZA Journal of Development and Migration, 12(1),
Alhawarin, I., Assaad, R. A. & Elsayed, A. (2021). Migration Shocks and Housing: Short-Run Impact of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan, Journal of Housing Economics, 53, 101761
Assaad, R. (in press). The impact of marriage on women’s employment in the Middle East and North Africa, Feminist Economics,
Sieverding, M., Hesham, M., Ramadan, R. & Assaad, R. (2020). The Care Economy in the Arab States. UN Women: Cairo Egypt
Krafft, C., Assaad, R., Rahman, K. W. & Cumanzala, M. (2020). How Do Small Formal and Informal Firms in the Arab Republic of Egypt Compare?. World Bank, Washington, DC:
Krafft, C. & Assaad, R. (2020). Employment’s Role in Enabling and Constraining Marriage in the Middle East and North Africa, Demography, 57(6), 2297-2325
Assaad, R. A., Hendy, R., Lassassi, M. & Yassin, S. (2020). Explaining the MENA paradox: Rising educational attainment yet stagnant female labor force participation, Demographic Research, 43(28), 817-850
Assaad, R. (2020). Prospects for Egypt’s Population and Labor Force: 2000 to 2050. Economic Research Forum: Cairo Egypt
Assaad, R. & Krafft, C. (2020). Excluded generation: the growing challenges of labor market insertion for Egyptian youth, Journal of Youth Studies, 1-27
Assaad, R. A., Krafft, C., Rahman, K. W. & Selwaness, I. (2019). Job Creation in Egypt: A Sectoral and Geographical Analysis Focusing on Private Establishments, 1996-2017. Economic Research Forum: Cairo Egypt
Krafft, C., Razzaz, S., Keo, C. & Assaad, R. (2019). The number and characteristics of Syrians in Jordan: A multi-source analysis. In The Jordanian Labor Market Between Fragility and Resilience.
Kabeer, N., Deshpande, A. & Assaad, R. A. (2019). Women's access to market opportunities in South Asia and the Middle East & North Africa. London School of Economics and Political Science: London United Kingdom
Assaad, R., Hendy, R. & Salehi-Isfahani, D. (2019). Inequality of Opportunity in Educational Attainment in the Middle East and North Africa: Evidence From Household Surveys, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, 71,
Krafft, C., Assaad, R. A. & Rahman, K. W. (2019). Introducing the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2018. Economic Research Forum: Cairo Egypt
Assaad, R. A., Alsharawy, A. & Salemi, C. (2019). Is the Egyptian economy creating good jobs? Job creation and economic vulnerability from 1998 to 2018. Economic Research Forum: Cairo Egypt
Krafft, C., Assaad, R. & Keo, C. (2019). The evolution of labor supply in Egypt from 1988-2018: A gendered analysis. Economic Research Forum: Cairo Egypt
(2019). The Jordanian Labor Market Between Fragility and Resilience. Oxford University Press:
Assaad, R. & Barsoum, G. (2019). Public employment in the Middle East and North Africa, IZA World of Labor,
Assaad, R., Krafft, C. & Salehi-Isfahani, D. (2017). Does the Type of Higher Education Affect Labor Market Outcomes? Evidence from Egypt and Jordan, Higher Education,
Courses
News and Media
Humphrey School News
Why Employment Trends in the Arab World Matter to the US
Read more Humphrey School news
Research Updates
Read about Assaad's latest research
In the Media
Pandemic Kicks Some Middle Eastern Economies When They're Already Down
Jerusalem Post, 10-15-2020
Managing Labor or Managing Capital: What to Consider?
Egypt Today, 10-01-2020
Unemployment in Egypt Rises, Will Outlast Pandemic, Experts Say
Zawya, 08-31-2020
Covid-19 economic impact: fate of Egypt’s irregular workers, underprivileged uncertain,
Daily News Egypt, 03-23-2020
Interview: Egypt's Economic Reforms Were Necessary, But Insufficient, Says Former World Bank Consultant
Ahram Online, Egypt, 12-12-2019
