»  Beyond the Mind: How Chronic Illness Sidesteps Mental Well-Being on the Path to Poorer Self-Rated Health-Under Review

Abstract

This study uses nationally representative ELMPS 2023 data (ages 32–65) to test whether short-term positive mental well-being (WHO-5) mediates the effect of chronic illness on self-rated health (SRH). Descriptively, women, adults aged 50–65, and Greater Cairo residents report the lowest WHO-5 means and worst SRH, whereas rural dwellers and those with at least secondary education report the highest WHO-5 scores and more favorable SRH. In weighted OLS regressions of SRH (1 = very good/excellent to 5 = very bad), having any chronic condition predicts a 0.54-point deterioration (SE = 0.17; p < 0.01) and remains a 0.50-point direct effect after adjusting for WHO-5 (SE = 0.10; p < 0.001). Each one-point increase in WHO-5 is associated with a 0.26-point improvement in SRH (SE = 0.01; p < 0.001), but Sobel–Goodman and bootstrap tests reveal an indirect effect of just 0.04 (p = 0.67), indicating no meaningful mediation by recent positive mood. Other pathways—such as functional limitations, informal social support, or spiritual coping—likely explain the chronic illness → SRH link more fully. These findings suggest that poorer self-rated health among Egypt’s chronically ill is driven chiefly by physical and functional burdens, underscoring the need to strengthen NCD management and functional-support services alongside culturally tailored mental-health assessments.

» Married Too Young: The Ripple Effects of Child Marriage on Women’s Agency, Education, Fertility, and Labor in Egypt -Under Review

 Abstract

Using nationally representative ELMPS 2023 data on 13,280 married women aged 15–55, this paper documents a wide array of descriptive associations between early marriage (≤18 years) and women’s life trajectories in Egypt. All analyses are descriptive and do not imply causality. Nearly 30 percent of women married as minors—especially in rural and lower-wealth communities—face sharply disrupted schooling (30.4 percent illiterate vs. 16.1 percent among adult brides) and near-universal school discontinuation (95.7 percent vs. 81.8 percent). Early-married women also bear higher fertility (3.20 vs. 2.80 live births) despite only marginally greater contraceptive uptake (62 percent vs. 60 percent). Their labor-market engagement is lower—only 14 percent ever worked versus 20 percent of their peers—and they are more concentrated in the private sector (54.5 percent vs. 26.1 percent), while non-early brides predominate in government employment (69.9 percent vs. 39.1 percent). Modest but consistent agency gaps appear across decision-making (6.59 vs. 6.78 out of 9), freedom of movement (2.94 vs. 3.06 out of 4), and financial autonomy (77 percent vs. 81 percent direct cash access; 20 percent vs. 23 percent asset ownership), alongside higher consanguineous marriage rates (27 percent vs. 19 percent). Early-married women justify intimate partner violence more often (IPV index 0.81 vs. 0.62) and express slightly less egalitarian gender attitudes and self-efficacy, a pattern that persists even as education levels rise. These intersecting disadvantages highlight the urgent need for integrated legal, economic, and normative interventions to delay marriage and strengthen women’s agency in Egypt.

» Childhood Vows, Career Costs - The Impacts of Early Marriage and Childbirth on Women's Employment in Egypt: Evidence from ELMPS 2023 -Under Review

Abstract

Early marriage (<18) and childbirth (<20) remain widespread in Egypt, disrupting schooling and dampening labor-force participation, but it is unclear whether these transitions impose a direct employment penalty or operate indirectly through constrained human-capital endowments. This study disentangles the direct and indirect effects of early marriage and childbirth on women’s employment and examines whether higher education mitigates adverse impacts. Drawing on the nationally representative 2023 Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey (N ≈ 20,000), I first present descriptive figures visualizing how early transitions relate to employment and the agreement with gender-role statements on work and marriage. Next, I estimate weighted probit models with interaction terms between each early-transition indicator and education level; apply a non-linear Fairlie decomposition to partition the employment-probability gap into explained (covariate) and unexplained components; and conduct a two-fold Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition on a weighted linear probability model as a robustness check. Pooled models show no significant net effect of early marriage or childbirth on employment overall, but among women with secondary or higher education, early childbirth reduces employment probability by 6–9 percentage points (p < 0.05). Fairlie decompositions attribute most of the 1.2–1.7 percentage-point gap to educational differences with negligible residuals, whereas Oaxaca–Blinder results indicate that 5.1 pp of the marriage gap and 1.1 pp of the childbirth gap stem from endowments, with minimal unexplained components. These findings suggest that educational attainment almost fully explains the modest employment shortfall associated with early marriage, while adolescent childbearing independently erodes returns to education. Delaying early transitions and strengthening support for young mothers are therefore critical to translating investments in girls’ education into sustained labor-market gains.

» Alkasasbeh, Y. (2025). Women’s agency in Jordan: The impact of marriage and motherhood moderated by education (ERF Working Paper No. 1776). Economic Research Forum. https://erf.org.eg/publications/womens-agency-in-jordan-the-impact-of-marriage-and-motherhood-moderated-by-education/

Abstract:

Marriage and motherhood both represent key milestones in commitment and family responsibilities. In this context, this paper explores how women's agency in Jordan is influenced by these roles, along with education level. It highlights three elements of instrumental agency: choice-making, financial independence, and mobility—along with intrinsic agency, which is assessed through attitudes toward domestic violence among married women. The sample consists of women between the ages of 15 and 59 from the 2010 and 2016 Jordan Labor Market Panel Surveys (JLMPS). Findings suggest that motherhood reduces women's likelihood of participating in household decision-making yet enhances their freedom of mobility and intrinsic agency. The change in the impact of motherhood on both decision-making and intrinsic agency is insignificant, with education acting as a moderating factor, all else equal. Marriage increases the probability of achieving greater financial independence but restricts mobility compared to single women under similar conditions. Education significantly amplifies the positive effects of marriage on financial autonomy but does not change the impact of marriage on the freedom of mobility.

» Bridging Education and Fertility: Unraveling the Role of Gender Attitudes- Forthcoming

Abstract:

In 2023, Jordan's fertility rate has decreased to 2.6 children per woman. This decline is linked to women achieving higher levels of education, which contributes to their empowerment. This study analyzes the number of births by estimating several linear regressions and mediation models to examine how women’s gender role attitudes influence the relationship between education and fertility. The data used comes from the Jordanian Labor Market Panel Surveys (JLMPS) conducted in 2010 and 2016. Women’s gender role attitudes were assessed using a 10-statement continuous scale reflecting their agreement with gender role statements. The findings indicate a strong connection between education and fertility rates. Specifically, an increase in years of education is significantly linked to lower fertility rates. Women who demonstrate intrinsic agency and hold egalitarian beliefs about gender typically have fewer children than those who adhere to unequal gender norms. Additionally, women with higher levels of education are more likely to possess egalitarian attitudes and beliefs regarding gender roles compared to those with lower educational attainment. However, women’s attitudes toward gender roles do not mediate the relationship between education and fertility. To further promote women’s empowerment, programs should focus on enhancing educational opportunities for women and encouraging more egalitarian views on gender roles.

» Alkasasbeh, Y. (2024). Inequality of Opportunity in Monthly Wages in the Jordanian Labor Market. The Economic Research Forum (ERF) Working Paper No. 1759

Abstract:

This paper quantifies the inequalities of opportunities in monthly wages in the Jordanian labor market, drawing on Roemer (1993)’s distinction between circumstances and other unobserved/unexplained variables (luck, endowed genetics, culture, native ability) which for convenience we call effort. I borrow the parametric approach developed by Bourguignon, Ferreira, and Menéndez (2007) to calculate the shares of “unfair” inequality and analyze the main drivers of inequality of opportunity for the entire population and gender/birth region subgroups, using the nationally representative Jordan labor market panel surveys for 2010 and 2016. Also

complementary analyses of inequality of opportunity was conducted; the stochastic dominance test and generalized lorenz curves Lefranc, Pistolesi, and Trannoy (2008), which allowed to visualize the magnitude of the inequality of opportunities. Inequality of opportunity shares are small and

decline in the second survey wave. Women and both north and south-born subgroups experience greater unfair inequality. The main drivers across the sample are parental education, father’s occupation, and employment sector. Stochastic dominance tests confirm advantages for individuals with publicly employed fathers, white-collar fathers, highly educated parents, and men.

From Roots to Rates: Gendered Inequality in Higher Education Opportunities in Egypt- Under Review

Abstract:

This paper examines gendered inequality of opportunity in tertiary education in Egypt using the 2023 Egypt Labor Market Survey (ELMPS). I restrict the sample to individuals aged 24–60 and categorize circumstances beyond personal control—number of siblings, parental education, place of birth, father’s occupation and sector—while controlling for age and age squared. A survey-weighted logistic regression generates individual access probabilities, which are then used to compute the D-index, penalty factor, and Human Opportunity Index (HOI). I further apply a Shapley decomposition to attribute total measured inequality to each circumstance. Results show that women have higher raw coverage of tertiary education (25.8%) than men (22.2%) but also face greater inequality (D-index 0.333 vs. 0.274), yielding an HOI of 17.2% for women and 16.1% for men. Shapley analysis reveals that father’s occupation and place of birth are the dominant drivers for men, whereas parental education—particularly father’s education and mother’s education—explains most of the inequality among women. These findings highlight that policy interventions aiming to improve higher education access in Egypt must address both overall coverage and its equitable distribution across social groups.

» Alkasasbeh, Y. (2024). Inequality of higher educational opportunity – the role of circumstances among the Jordanian people. Applied Economics, 1–17.

Abstract:

 This paper investigates the role of background circumstances in shaping individual opportunities in higher education in Jordan, for the whole population as well as for key subgroups based on gender and the geographical region of birth. I apply the Dissimilarity-Index de Barros et al., (2009), (2008), the Shapley decomposition Deutsch and Silber, (2008); Shorrocks, (2013) and the Human Opportunity index which was proposed by Barros, Vega, and Saavedra (2008). After implementing logistic models using both publicly available waves of the Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey JLMPS (2010 and 2016). My findings suggest that higher education attainment and the mean years of completed education have expanded for the whole population, as well as for all subgroups, despite the low coverage rate in both waves. Unequal opportunities in higher education are somewhat moderate in Jordan and are mainly explained by parental education, father’s occupation, and sector of work, with much less impact from gender, number of siblings, and the region of birth.