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Labour market dynamics and youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa: Evidence from Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia

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  • Ragui Assaad
  • Caroline Krafft

Abstract

Although it is well‐established in the literature that unemployment is a labour market insertion problem in the Middle East and North Africa, the dynamics driving unemployment remain poorly understood. Using data from the Labor Market Panel Surveys in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia, we offer insights into youth unemployment by studying flows into and out of unemployment. Female youth and Tunisian youth of both genders are particularly likely to experience long periods of unemployment. Educated youth from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds are more likely to experience unemployment, but there is not a strong relationship between background and unemployment duration.

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  • Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft, 2023. "Labour market dynamics and youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa: Evidence from Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 37(4), pages 519-553, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:labour:v:37:y:2023:i:4:p:519-553
    DOI: 10.1111/labr.12257
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    1. Meyer, Bruce D, 1990. "Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment Spells," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(4), pages 757-782, July.
    2. Jenkins, Stephen P, 1995. "Easy Estimation Methods for Discrete-Time Duration Models," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(1), pages 129-138, February.
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    4. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & Shaimaa Yassin, 2018. "Comparing retrospective and panel data collection methods to assess labor market dynamics," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-34, December.
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    6. Samer Kherfi, 2015. "Determinants of Unemployment Duration," Working Papers 909, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2015.
    7. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft, 2013. "The Egypt labor market panel survey: introducing the 2012 round," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-30, December.
    8. Shaimaa Yassin, 2014. "Job Accession, Separation and Mobility in the Egyptian Labor Market Over the Past Decade," Working Papers 881, Economic Research Forum, revised Nov 2014.
    9. Assaad, Ragui & Arntz, Melanie, 2005. "Constrained Geographical Mobility and Gendered Labor Market Outcomes Under Structural Adjustment: Evidence from Egypt," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 431-454, March.
    10. Rana Hendy, 2015. "Women's Participation in the Egyptian Labor Market: 1998-2012," Working Papers 907, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2015.
    11. Assaad, Ragui & Krafft, Caroline (ed.), 2015. "The Egyptian Labor Market in an Era of Revolution," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198737254, Decembrie.
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    Cited by:

    1. Iman Al‐Ayouty & Hoda Hassaballa, 2020. "Regional unemployment in Egypt: Spatial panel data analysis," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(4), pages 565-577, December.
    2. Driouchi, Ahmed & Harkat, Tahar, 2016. "Macroeconomic and School Variables to Reveal Country Choices of General and Vocational Education: A Cross-Country Analysis with focus on Arab Economies," MPRA Paper 73455, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Ragui Assaad & Samir Ghazouani & Caroline Krafft, 2017. "The Composition of Labor Supply and Unemployment in Tunisia," Working Papers 1150, Economic Research Forum, revised 11 Jan 2017.
    4. Assaad, Ragui & Krafft, Caroline & Selwaness, Irene, 2017. "The Impact of Early Marriage on Women’s Employment in the Middle East and North Africa," GLO Discussion Paper Series 66, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Alaref,Jumana Jamal Subhi & Nikaein Towfighian,Samira & Paez Salamanca,Gustavo Nicolas & Audah,Mohammed Thabet M, 2020. "The Impact of Employer Discrimination on Female Labor Market Outcomes : Experimental Evidence from Tunisia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9361, The World Bank.
    6. Irene Selwaness & Caroline Krafft, 2021. "The Dynamics of Family Formation and Women’s Work: What Facilitates and Hinders Female Employment in the Middle East and North Africa?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(3), pages 533-587, June.
    7. Harkat, Tahar & Driouchi, Ahmed & Achehboune, Amale, 2016. "Time Series Analysis & Choices for General and Vocational Education in Arab Economies," MPRA Paper 74770, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Deng,Jingyuan & Elmallakh,Nelly Youssef Louis William & Flabbi,Luca & Gatti,Roberta V., 2022. "Labor Market Transitions in Egypt Post-Arab Spring," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10126, The World Bank.
    9. Ragui Assaad & Samir Ghazouani & Caroline Krafft & Dominique J. Rolando, 2016. "Introducing the Tunisia Labor Market Panel Survey 2014," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-21, December.
    10. Barsoum, Ghada, 2020. "When marketization encounters centralized governance: Private Higher education in Egypt," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    11. Caroline Krafft & Reham Rizk, 2018. "The Promise and Peril of Youth Entrepreneurship in MENA," Working Papers 1257, Economic Research Forum, revised 19 Nov 2018.
    12. Caroline Krafft & Ragui Assaad, 2020. "Employment’s Role in Enabling and Constraining Marriage in the Middle East and North Africa," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(6), pages 2297-2325, December.
    13. Fallah, Belal & Krafft, Caroline & Wahba, Jackline, 2019. "The impact of refugees on employment and wages in Jordan," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 203-216.
    14. El-Haddad Amirah, 2020. "Picking Winners: Identifying Leading Sectors for Egypt and Tunisia Using the Product Space Methodology," Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, De Gruyter, vol. 16(1), pages 1-80, April.
    15. Caroline Krafft & Ragui Assaad, 2018. "Do More Productive Firms Pay Workers More? Evidence from Egypt," Working Papers 1222, Economic Research Forum, revised 18 Sep 2018.
    16. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & Dominique J. Rolando, 2017. "The Role of Housing Markets in the Timing of Marriage in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia," Working Papers 1081, Economic Research Forum, revised 04 Oct 2017.
    17. Almas Heshmati & Ilham Haouas & Kazi Sohag & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2017. "Hiring and Separation Rates Before and after the Arab Spring in the Tunisian Labour Market," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 85(2), pages 259-278, June.

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