Point of View

In an interview with All Things Considered host Michelle Norris (NPR), Ragui Assaad highlights the Middle East's youth bulge, the impact of these unemployed youth on the region's current unrest, and the value of creative economic policies designed to harness the energy and economic potential of these restless youth. The audio and transcript of this interview were originally published on NPR on 18 February 2011.

The Middle East is currently experiencing an unprecedented youth bulge, the effects of which are being felt in protests and demands for reform across the region. In a recent interview, Ragui Assaad discusses the region's unique demographic situation and ways to transform unrest into economic opportunity. The transcript of this interview was originally published by the Council of Foreign Relations on 14 February 2011.

Tarik Yousef, Raj Desai, and Anders Olofsgård discuss the authoritarian bargain--"an implicit contract between ruling elites and citizens whereby citizens relinquished political influence in exchange for economic benefits"--highlighting the need for new reforms in the wake of the authoritarian bargain's collapse. This analysis was originally published by Brookings Institution on 09 February 2011.

Raj Desai assesses the authoritarian bargain in the Middle East, examining the two shocks--economic recession in the 1980s and 1990s, and an unprecedented youth bulge--that brought about its undoing in Egypt and Tunisia. This opinion piece was originally published in Politico on 01 February 2011.