J-PAL Middle East and North Africa and The Egypt Impact Lab are announcing the opening of applications for the third cohort of the MENA Scholars Fellowship.

The MENA Scholars Fellowship is a two-year program for early-career economists and researchers in related disciplines from the MENA region. Fellows gain hands-on experience designing and implementing randomized evaluations with J-PAL-affiliated researchers and leadership, while receiving mentorship and targeted training to support their development as policy-relevant researchers. Each fellow receives a USD 15,000 stipend over two years.

To learn more, an information webinar will be held on Thursday, March 05, 2026, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm Cairo local time, covering fellowship opportunities, eligibility, the application process, and experiences from previous fellows. You can register for the session here.

Application deadline: March 26 at 11:59 pm Cairo Local Time

For full details on the fellowship, eligibility criteria, and applications, please visit the MENA Scholars Fellowship webpage. 

The application for the Palestinian Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (PalUROP) is now open. The program’s goal is to connect non-Palestinian faculty to Palestinians and can facilitate a collaboration if the proposal is submitted in advance of the deadline. The deadline is March 10, 2026. Please see the attached flyer for more information.

   AReena X GAIN

AReena has recently partnered with the Graduate Applications International Network (GAIN), which supports prospective African students in economics and related fields. AReena is now recruiting participants for the 2026–27 cycle and is seeking motivated Arab candidates from across the Middle East and North Africa. Participants will gain access to critical information about graduate applications and benefit from structured mentoring.

The application deadline is February 11, 2026. 

Interested candidates who meet the criteria below may apply using the following link. 

Arab students who are citizens of North African countries can also apply directly to the GAIN mentorship program which provides financial support to accepted candidates. The GAIN application form is available at this link.

Arab students who are NOT citizens of North African countries should NOT apply to GAIN directly and will automatically be applying to their webinar series by filling out this application form.

 Eligibility criteria:
• Applicants must hold a BA/BS or MA/MS in economics or a related field.
• Applicants should intend to pursue a Ph.D. in economics or a related field, or a master’s degree in economics with the intention of subsequently pursuing a Ph.D.
• Applicants must be willing to study abroad and commit the time required to participate in the GAIN webinar series (typically 3–5 hours per week starting in February).

For questions, please contact arabeconnetwork@gmail.com 

   Job Market Candidates Symposium 2025-2026

The second virtual job market symposium for Arab Ph.D. students who are on the job market in 2025-2026. The symposium will take place on September 12, 2025, at 10 am PST via Zoom.

The agenda is included below: 

Date: Friday, September 12, 2025, 10:00 am–3:00pm


Time Zone: Pacific Time

10:00–10:45am
 Panel of Recent JMCs (Chair: Youssef Benzarti)

10:45–11:30am
 Session 1: Education & Gender (Chair: Youssef Benzarti)

• 10:45am – Stephanie El Khoury (Arizona State University)
Information Bias and Selection of Female Professors

(15 min break)

11:45am–1:15pm 
Session 2: Development & Labor (Chair: Sami Bazzi)

• 11:45am – Nadia Ali (Columbia University)
Minimum Wages for Skilled Workers

• 12:30pm – Abdelrahman Amer (University of Toronto)
Monopsony in Space: Commuting Costs & Labor Market Power

(15 min break)

1:30–3:00pm
 Session 3: Environment & Health (Chair: Hani Mansour)

• 1:30pm – Rania Lachhab (UC Berkeley)
The Value of Groundwater Storage: Evidence from California’s Kern Water Bank

• 2:15pm – Salpy Kanimian (Rice University)
Spatial Disparities, Selection, and Segmentation in Health Insurance