The Egyptian Labor Market in an Era of Revolution

This book fills an important gap in the knowledge about labor market conditions in Egypt in the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings, and it analyzes the results of the latest round of the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey carried out in early 2012. The chapters cover topics that are essential to understanding the conditions leading to the Egyptian revolution of 25 January 2011, including the persistence of high youth unemployment, labor market segmentation and rigidity, growing informality, and the declining role of the state as an employer. It includes the first research on the impact of the revolution and the ensuing economic crisis on the labor market, including issues such as changes in earnings, increased insecurity of employment, declining female labor force participation, and the stagnation of micro and small enterprise growth. Comparisons are made to labor market conditions prior to the revolution using previous rounds of the survey fielded in 1988, 1998, and 2006. The chapters make use of this unique longitudinal data to provide a fresh analysis of the Egyptian labor market after the Arab Spring, an analysis that was simply not feasible with previously existing data. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the economics of the Middle East and the political economy of the Arab Spring. The Egyptian Labor Market in an Era of Revolution 4 Copyright 5 Contents 16 List of Figures 18 List of Tables 24 List of Contributors 28 1 The Evolution of Labor Supply and Unemployment in the Egyptian Economy: 1988–2012 30 2 The Structure and Evolution of Employment in Egypt: 1998–2012 56 3 Wages and Inequality in the Egyptian Labor Market in an Era of Financial Crisis and Revolution 81 4 Patterns of Labor Market Insertion in Egypt: 1998–2012 99 5 Determinants of Unemployment Duration 119 6 Young People’s Job Aspirations in Egypt and the Continued Preference for a Government Job 137 7 Education in Egypt: Improvements in Attainment, Problems with Quality and Inequality 156 8 Women’s Participation in the Egyptian Labor Market: 1998–2012 176 9 Changes in the Institution of Marriage in Egypt from 1998 to 2012 191 10 Micro and Small Household Enterprises in Egypt: Potential for Growth and Employment Generation 211 11 Through the Keyhole: International Migration in Egypt 227 12 Job Accession, Separation, and Mobility in the Egyptian Labor Market over the Past Decade 247 13 Duration to Coverage: Dynamics of Access to Social Security in the Egyptian Labor Market in the 1998–2012 Period 270 Index 288 Draws on a 2012 Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey, looks at a wide range of issues including high youth unemployment, labor market segmentation and rigidity, and the declining role of the state as employer. Explores the impact of difficulties associated with the revolution such as adjustments to earnings, job insecurity, impacts on the female labor force, and the stagnation of micro and small enterprises Analysing the results of the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey (ELMPS) from 2012, the chapters in this book cover topics that contribute to understanding the conditions leading to the Egyptian revolution of January 2011