1. THE BENEFITS VS. ISSUES OF EDUCATION ON EMPLOYMENT BY: MARC MAGUIRE, ALLEN SCHNEIDER, & OLIVIA DAUGHERTY

2. ISSUES OF EDUCATION ON EMPLOYMENT

3. YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT Youth of the MENA region (ages 15-24) facing crippling unemployment World Economic Forum (WEF) says this is one of the regions “greatest challenges and liabilities”

4. THE FACTS  25% of those under 25 in the MENA region are unemployed  Highest regional youth unemployment in the world Youth unemployment has doubled the actual unemployment rate Some countries reaching 30% youth unemployment  Tunisia

5. KEY FACTORS  High labor force growth  Skill mismatches  Labor and product market rigidities  Large public sectors  High reservation wages

6. YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT VS. UNEMPLOYMENT

7. EDUCATION: PROBLEM OR SOLUTION?  Unemployment trends in the MENA region INCREASE with schooling  15% of those with tertiary education in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia are unemployed  This is due to a “skill-mismatch” that has been created in the area

8. SKILL MISMATCHES The MENA labor market has been unable to create enough high-skilled jobs with respect to growing education Average education has increases 4x from 1960- 2000 More than any region in the world Mismatch due to a dominant public sector

9. PUBLIC SECTOR DOMINANCE Public sector employment constitutes a large share of total formal employment More than 70 percent of non-agricultural employment in Egypt and Libya and 40 percent in Yemen, Jordan and Iran in the 2000’s were in the public sector (World Bank). Forcing overqualified Youth to take lesser jobs

10. PRIVATE SECTOR SHORTFALL Small firms that are disconnected from the public sector Suffer from low productivity because of the nature of the sector which requires less capital, less skilled labor and less investment Workers do not receive social security coverage or medical insurance

11. MENA LABOR FORCE

12. LABOR MARKET FLEXIBILITY

13. “Fresh graduates need to throw themselves into vocational training; they have all the academic skills without any job experience and lack the ability to apply what they have been taught.” - Amin Alaswadi, manager at Universal, one of Yemen’s largest companies

14. EDUCATION BENEFITS ON EMPLOYMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST THE STRONG CORRELATIONS OF EDUCATION AND JOBS

15. INTRO Unemployment in most MENA countries was actually the highest among those who had HIGHER education achievements. The reasoning behind this is due to the fact that most citizens in the Middle East seek public sector jobs.

16. SO WHY THE EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION? Greater international collaboration -> job flexibility in many countries (currently through technology mainly) Economic growth -> broadens employment opportunities Higher paying jobs (1) Good benefits (2) Higher job security (3) The latter (3) being mainly held in public sector jobs

17. EDUCATION AND JOB INCOME (QUALITATIVE)

18. CLOSING THE GENDER GAP Significant progress In 1960 -> Large majority of MENA women did not have any education Currently – Nearly 4 out of 5 girls attend primary school This will allow the gender gap to shrink in employment

19. WHY IS FEMALE EDUCATION IMPORTANT? Fertility, population growth, infant and child mortality fall Household health increases Women get a better understanding of their capabilities, legal rights Households with educated women tend to have higher income Also increases national income Higher chance of daughters being enrolled Increases employment

21. A RAPIDLY GROWING AND INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY More advanced skills -> Higher job opportunity Private investment – Very high on higher education An advantage for students who complete studies such as math, science, and *economics due to high dropout rates for these subjects *Not as huge as the dropout for math and science but a valuable area of study for MENA

22. LITERACY RATE In addition to the skills learned in Math and Science, literacy is, even today, where MENA citizens struggle. Therefore learning how to read and write will put a job applicant in an advantageous position. IE: White collar staff [clerks, accountants, (and few) managers]

23. LITERACY RATES 2007-2010

24. WHAT IS OUR CONCLUSION? Still support furthering Education Countries not trying to improve will surely fall behind MENA countries need to do a better job of expanding industry

25. REFERENCES Roudi-Fahimi, Farzaneh; Moghadem, Valentine; Empowering Women Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa; November 2003 Hoel, Arne; Education in the Middle East and North Africa, January 27, 2014 Richards Alan, Waterbury John, Cammett Melanie, Diwan Ishac; A Political Economy of the Middle East; Westview Press 2008, 2014

26. REFERENCES Ahmed, Masood. "Youth Unemployment in the MENA Region: Determinants and Challenges, IMF; Dominique Guillaume, Deputy Division Chief, IMF; Davide Furceri, Economist, IMF." International Monetary Fund. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. Ellyatt, Holly. "Youth Unemployment in Rich Middle East a 'liability': WEF." CNBC., 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. Mottaghi, Lilli. "The Problem of Unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa Explained in Three Charts." Voices and Views: Middle East and North Africa. The World Bank, 25 Aug. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.