Review of Economics and Statistics · R&R
The Barriers to Female Employment
Experimental evidence from Egypt on job matching, childcare subsidies, and the employment decisions of mothers with young children.
Development economist · Applied microeconomist · Research leader
Abdelrahman Nagy
I study how labor markets, household decisions, and public programs shape opportunity.
I am Program Director, MENA at the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), where I lead impact evaluations, evidence programs, research partnerships, and capacity strengthening across the region.
PhD thesis unconditionally approved · Defense scheduled for 21 September 2026
≈16 yearsresearch experience
US$3.5msecured across current research studies
US$50m+evidence-based allocations overseen
100+courses & training sessions
Profile
Research with a clear route to decisions.
I bring approximately 16 years of experience combining academic research with large-scale field studies, institution building, research funding, and policy engagement across the Middle East and North Africa.
Before joining 3ie, I served as Director of Learning and Strategy at the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, co-founded J-PAL MENA, and worked as an impact evaluation consultant for the World Bank. My doctoral research at UNU-MERIT/Maastricht University is in development economics.
Research spotlight · Featured in VoxDev
Childcare, employment services, and women’s work in Egypt
VoxDev featured our study, Child Care Subsidies, Employment Services and Women’s Labor Market Outcomes in Egypt, in its review of evidence from randomized childcare evaluations in low- and middle-income countries.
Selected work
Research and evidence products
Journal of Development Economics · 2022
What Do Jobseekers Want?
Comparing methods for estimating reservation wages and the value jobseekers place on non-wage job attributes.
Job-market paper · 2026
Parental Influence on Youth Employment Decisions in Rural Egypt
Evidence from a randomized controlled trial on how involving parents shapes young women’s employment decisions.