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Socioeconomic Status and the Changing Nature of School-to-Work Transitions in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia

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  • Ragui Assaad
  • Caroline Krafft
  • Colette Salemi

Abstract

The Middle East and North Africa region struggled to meet the employment aspirations of its increasingly educated youth in the aftermath of structural reforms. This article examines the evolution of initial labor market outcomes across pre- and post-reform cohorts of school leavers by education and socioeconomic status (SES) in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia. Results show that formal jobs for educated new entrants are increasingly allocated according to SES, as measured by parents’ education and father’s occupation, in Egypt and Tunisia, but not in Jordan. In Egypt and Tunisia, the quality of initial jobs deteriorated for educated new entrants, particularly among those with lower SES. This rising tide of inequality of opportunity in employment may have contributed to the Arab Spring uprisings and remains an important source of frustration for youth and their families.

Suggested Citation

  • Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & Colette Salemi, 2023. "Socioeconomic Status and the Changing Nature of School-to-Work Transitions in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 76(4), pages 697-723, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:76:y:2023:i:4:p:697-723
    DOI: 10.1177/00197939221141407
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    1. 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.
    2. Caroline Krafft & Ragui Assaad & Ruby Cheung, 2024. "Introducing the Sudan Labor Market Panel Survey 2022," HiCN Working Papers 406, Households in Conflict Network.
    3. Krafft,Caroline Gould & Assaad,Ragui A. & Rahman,Khandker Wahedur & Cumanzala,Maakwe, 2020. "How Do Small Formal and Informal Firms in the Arab Republic of Egypt Compare ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9423, The World Bank.
    4. 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.
    5. Adely, Fida Issa J. & Mitra, Ankushi & Mohamed, Menatalla & Shaham, Adam, 2021. "Poor education, unemployment and the promise of skills: The hegemony of the “skills mismatch” discourse," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    6. Bachmann, Ronald & Kluve, Jochen & Martinez Flores, Fernanda & Stöterau, Jonathan, 2019. "Employment impacts of German development cooperation interventions: A collaborative study in three pilot countries," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 215904.
    7. Nicolò Bird, 2020. "Most affected subgroups in young people's transitions to work in the MENA region," Policy Research Brief 69, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.

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