Journal articles
“Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on subjective wellbeing in the Middle East and North Africa: A gender analysis.”
PLoS ONE 18(5): e0286405, 2023
(with Maia Sieverding, Caroline Krafft and Alexandra Abi Nassif)
“Egypt’s reformed social insurance system: How might design change incentivize enrolment?”
International Social Security Review, 75:2, 47-74, 2022.
(with Ghada Barsoum)
“Promoting SME Access to Finance: Evidence from the Manufacturing Sector in Egypt,”
International Journal of Euro-Mediterranean Studies, 15:2, 217-244, 2022.
(with Mona Amer)
“The Impact of Marriage on Women's Employment in the Middle East and North Africa,”
Feminist Economics, 28:2, 247-279, 2022.
(with Ragui Assaad, Caroline Krafft)
“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 40, 533–587, 2021.
(With Caroline Krafft)
“Who Is Covered and Who Underreports: An Empirical Analysis of Access to Social Insurance in Egypt,”
Journal of International Development, 31:8, 720-751, 2019.
(with Rania Roushdy).
“Young People School-to-Work Transition in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring: Early Evidence from Egypt,”
International Journal of Manpower, 40:3, 398-432, 2019.
(with Rania Roushdy).
“On the interaction between exports and labor market regulation: Evidence from the MENA countries,”
The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 73, 24-33, 2019.
(with Chahir Zaki)
“Assessing the impact of trade reforms on informal employment in Egypt,”
The Journal of North African Studies 20:3, 391-414, 2015.
(with Chahir Zaki).
Working Papers
“When Formality is Costly and Informality is Legal: Social Insurance Design Woes at a Time of Economic Crises”.
Economic Research Forum (ERF) Working Paper Series No. 1661, 2023.
(with Ghada Barsoum)
“Social Protection and the middle class: Evidence from Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia”.
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Africa (UN ESCWA) working paper series: Beirut, Lebanon, 2023.
(with Marco Schaefer)
“The more, the merrier? The association between access to digital technology and gender norms among urban youth in Mozambique.”
Advancing Learning and Innovation on Gender Norms (ALIGN) research report series, ODI, London, UK, 2023.
“The Jordanian Social Contract: Shifting from Public Employment as a Source of Social Insurance to Government-Regulated Social Insurance.”
Economic Research Forum Working Paper Series No. 1582, 2022.
(with Susan Razzaz)
“The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women’s Care Work and Employment in the Middle East and North Africa.”
ILO/ERF working paper SWP 2022-5. (Submitted in Demographic Research)
(with Caroline Krafft and Maia Sieverding)
“The Coverage Gap in the Egyptian Social Insurance System During a Period of Reforms and Revolts.”
Economic Research Forum Working Papers Series No. 898, 2014. Cairo, Egypt.
(with Rania Roushdy).
“Social Protection in Egypt: A Policy Overview.”
Population Council Gender and Work in the MENA Region Working Paper Series No. 23, 2012. Cairo: Population Council
(with Maia Sieverding).
“Rethinking Social Insurance in Egypt: An Empirical Study.”
Economic Research Forum Working Papers Series No. 717, 2012. Cairo, Egypt.
Book Chapters
Irene Selwaness and Maye Ehab. 2022. “Social Protection and Vulnerability in Egypt: A Gendered Analysis” In The Egyptian Labor Market: Focus on Vulnerability and Gender. Caroline Krafft and Ragui Assaad (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 257-294. [Working paper version]
Ibrahim Alhawarin and Irene Selwaness. 2019. 'The Challenges of Social Security Coverage and Early Retirement in Jordan: What Happened after the 2010 Pension Reform?', in The Jordanian Labor Market: Between Fragility and Resilience. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Caroline Krafft, and Ragui Assaad (eds), 313–340.[Working paper version]
Irene Selwaness and Mahmoud Messkoub. 2019. “The Egyptian social protection system: coverage gaps, challenges and opportunities.” In Social Policy in the Middle East and North Africa. Rana Jawad, Nicola Jones, and Mahmoud Messkoub (eds). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 84–115.
Rania Roushdy and Irene Selwaness. 2015. “Duration to Coverage: Dynamics of Access to Social Security in the Egyptian Labor Market in the 1998-2012 Period.”' In The Egyptian Labor Market in an Era of Revolution. Ragui Assaad and Caroline Krafft (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 241-257.[Working paper version]
Policy Research Reports
Irene Selwaness, Ragui Assaad and Mona El-Sayed. 2023. "The promise of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) jobs in Egypt." Report for German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ). Cairo: Egypt.
Irene Selwaness, Taskeen Adam, Laté Lawson, and Lucy Heady. 2022. Guidance Note on Education Data Mapping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Moving from theory to practice. [Technical Report]. EdTech Hub.
Mona Amer, Irene Selwaness, and Chahir Zaki. 2021. “Patterns of economic growth and labor market vulnerability in Egypt.” In Regional Report on Jobs and Growth in North Africa 2020, edited by Assaad, R. and Marouani, M.A., International Labor Office and Economic Research Forum, 97-154.
Irene Selwaness and Imane Helmy. 2020. “The evolution of paid and unpaid care work in Egypt.” In Progress of Women in the Arab States 2020: The role of the care economy in promoting gender equality, 77-111.
Ibrahim Alhawarin, Nasma Berri, Irene Selwaness, Maia Sieverding. 2020. “The care economy in Jordan.” In Progress of Women in the Arab States 2020: The role of the care economy in promoting gender equality, 114-145.
Ragui Assaad, Caroline Krafft, Khandker Wahedur Rahman, and Irene Selwaness. 2019 “Job Creation in Egypt: A Sectoral and Geographical Analysis Focusing on Private Establishments 1996-2017.” Economic Research Forum Policy Research Report. Cairo, Egypt.
Rania Roushdy and Irene Selwaness. 2015. “Young People's Labor Market Outcomes during a Period of Transition.” In Panel Survey of Young People in Egypt 2014: Generating Evidence for Policies and Programs. Rania Roushdy and Maia Sieverding (Eds.). Cairo: Population Council.
Policy Briefs
Irene Selwaness and Ghada Barsoum. 2023. “Between Costly Formality and Legal Informality: Egypt’s Social Insurance Design Woes.” Economic Research Forum (ERF) Policy Brief Series No.121. Cairo, Egypt
Susan Razzaz and Irene Selwaness. 2022. “Is Jordan Achieving the Social Insurance Goals of its New Social Contract?”. Economic Research Forum Policy Brief Series No. 92. Cairo, Egypt
Irene Selwaness and Imane Helmy. 2020. “The Care Economy in Egypt: The Road towards Recognizing, Reducing and Redistributing Unpaid Care Work”. ERF and UNWomen, Policy Brief No.2.
Ibrahim Alhawarin, Nasma Berri, Irene Selwaness, Maia Sieverding. 2020. “The Care Economy in Jordan: The Road towards Recognizing, Reducing and Redistributing Unpaid Care Work”. ERF and UNWomen, Policy Brief No.5.
Irene Selwaness. 2012. “Social Insurance in Egypt: Challenges and Suggestions.” Arab Forum for Alternatives AFA, Policy Brief (in Arabic). Cairo, Egypt
Irene Selwaness and Rania Roushdy. 2011. “Who Is Covered and Who Underreports: An Empirical Analysis of Access to Social Insurance on the Egyptian Labor Market.” Population Council Gender and Work in the MENA Region Policy Brief Series No. 4. Cairo: Population Council.