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Public employment in the Middle East and North Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Ragui Assaad

    (University of Minnesota, USA, and IZA, Germany)

  • Ghada Barsoum

    (American University in Cairo, Egypt)

Abstract

Public sector hiring has been an essential component of the social bargains that have maintained political stability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). As these bargains eroded, public sector workforces contracted in relative terms owing to a partial freeze on hiring and the promise of lifetime job security for incumbent workers. This had profound effects on the age composition of the workforce. The upcoming retirement of many workers provides an opportunity to restructure public sector hiring to emphasize meritocratic recruitment processes and performance-based compensation systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Ragui Assaad & Ghada Barsoum, 2019. "Public employment in the Middle East and North Africa," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 463-463, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:2019:n:463
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roberta Gatti & Diego F. Angel-Urdinola & Joana Silva & Andras Bodor, 2014. "Striving for Better Jobs : The Challenge of Informality in the Middle East and North Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 19905, December.
    2. Baldwin-Edwards, Martin, 2011. "Labour immigration and labour markets in the GCC countries: national patterns and trends," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 55239, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & Irene Selwaness, 2017. "The Impact of Early Marriage on Women’s Employment in the Middle East and North Africa," Working Papers 1086, Economic Research Forum, revised 04 2017.
    4. Ragui Assaad, 2014. "Making sense of Arab labor markets: the enduring legacy of dualism," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-25, December.
    5. repec:wbk:wbpubs:12550 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Amin, Magdi & Assaad, Ragui & al-Baharna, Nazar & Dervis, Kemal & Desai, Raj M. & Dhillon, Navtej S. & Galal, Ahmed & Ghanem, Hafez & Graham, Carol & Kaufmann, Daniel, 2012. "After the Spring: Economic Transitions in the Arab World," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199924929.
    7. Ishac Diwan & Ahmed Galal (ed.), 2016. "The Middle East Economies in Times of Transition," International Economic Association Series, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-52977-0, December.
    8. Raj M. Desai & Anders Olofsgård & Tarik M. Yousef, 2009. "The Logic Of Authoritarian Bargains," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(1), pages 93-125, March.
    9. World Bank, 2013. "Opening Doors : Gender Equality and Development in the Middle East and North Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 12552, December.
    10. Assaad, Ragui & Hendy, Rana & Lassassi, Moundir & Yassin, Shaimaa, 2018. "Explaining the MENA Paradox: Rising Educational Attainment, Yet Stagnant Female Labor Force Participation," IZA Discussion Papers 11385, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yusuke Kawamura, 2022. "Public Sector Employment as a Social Welfare Policy: The “Social Contract†and Failed Job Creation for Youth in Egypt," Contemporary Review of the Middle East, , vol. 9(1), pages 31-50, March.
    2. Dina Bishara, 2023. "Introduction to a Special Issue on Labor in the Middle East and North Africa: Precarity, Inequality, and Migration," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(4), pages 627-645, August.
    3. Iman,Sen & Afif,Zeina & Gauri,Varun & Mohamed,Gohdar, 2022. "Women’s Labor Force Participation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq : A Study of Social andPsychological Barriers," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10028, The World Bank.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    MENA; Middle East and North Africa; gender; age structure; public sector;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets
    • J48 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Particular Labor Markets; Public Policy

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