Welcome to my page!

I am Karine Moukaddem a postdoctoral researcher at UCLouvain and a member of the IDnomics Group (UCLouvain and UNamur). I am also a J-PAL MENA Scholar Fellowship recipient for 2024-2026. 

I defended my PhD at the Aix-Marseille School of Economics (Aix-Marseille University) in July 2025, under the supervision of Patricia Augier and Marion Dovis. I have received the Special Mention of the Thesis Prize 2026 of the AFSE (Association Française de Science Ecnomique). I am also an elected member of the AFÉPOP (Association Française des Economistes de la Population).  

I am an applied microeconomist whose research interests lie at the intersection of development, gender, religion, and political economy, with a particular focus on the Middle East. My work revolves around two main axes: women's adaptation strategies in contexts of socio-economic uncertainty, and the determinants and consequences of gender norms. 

In my Job Market Paper, I analyze how exposure to deaths during the Arab Spring affected the Egyptian marriage market, with a particular emphasis on marital payments. I find that deferred dower—a legally enforceable payment paid upon widowhood—increases both in amount and likelihood for marriages negotiated during periods of heightened protest-related fatalities. My findings suggest the role of deferred dower as a contingent financial protection, notably in the absence of formal safety nets.

I visited the Research Program in Development Economcis at Princeton University in May 2024, invited by Prof. Pascaline Dupas, and the Vancouver School of Economics of the University of British Columbia in Spring 2024, invited by Prof. Siwan Anderson. 

Contact: karine.moukaddem@uclouvain.be