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Who we are

With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Kalyani Raghunathan

Kalyani Raghunathan is Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit, based in New Delhi, India. Her research lies at the intersection of agriculture, gender, social protection, and public health and nutrition, with a specific focus on South Asia and Africa. 

Where we work

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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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Research by country and region

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experts

Development Strategies and Governance

Basma Yassa

Research Associate

Basma Yassa

Bio

Basma Yassa is a Research Associate with the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, and is based at IFPRI-Cairo.

Egypt Strategy Support Program

Development Strategies and Governance

Publications

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Working Paper

Would you rather: Voluntary take-up of a poverty graduation program among cash transfer recipients

2024Allen IV, James; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kurdi, Sikandra; Yassa, Basma
Details

Would you rather: Voluntary take-up of a poverty graduation program among cash transfer recipients

THIS IS AN INITIAL PUBLICATION. THE FINAL VERSION WILL BE AVAILABLE IN DECEMBER 2024. We study how households in Egypt’s national cash transfer program decide to voluntarily join a new government-run poverty graduation program. Using a randomized experiment, we test official video messages providing respondents with new information on: T1) the duration of the cash transfers after joining the graduation program and T2) expected monthly income from the asset provided by the graduation program. Both video messages increase respondents’ beliefs on their respective topics and interest in recommending the graduation program to others. The evidence is consistent with a theoretical model where new information increasing the expected returns for the graduation program consequently increases preferences for the new program, though estimating the model reveals other factors also likely affect household decision-making. The findings highlight the importance of designing poverty graduation programs that provide compelling economic incentives relative to existing social protection programs.

Year published

2024

Authors

Allen IV, James; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kurdi, Sikandra; Yassa, Basma

Citation

Allen IV, James; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kurdi, Sikandra; and Yassa, Basma. 2024. Would you rather: Voluntary take-up of a poverty graduation program among cash transfer recipients. MENA Working Paper 44. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/158340

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Social Protection; Poverty; Poverty Reduction; Cash Transfers

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Brief

Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of Forsa employers

2024Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; Kurdi, Sikandra
Details

Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of Forsa employers

Increasing formal employment for youth and women is a key goal of the Forsa pilot graduation intervention and Egyptian government policy in general. As detailed in Forsa evaluation reports, matching Takaful beneficiaries with jobs in the private sector is a major challenge on the household and on the beneficiary level. In this policy note, however, we examine the challenges from the perspective of potential employers. We review literature of the market failures that may contribute to difficulties with job matching in rural Egypt and present results from a small telephone survey of Forsa employers.

Year published

2024

Authors

Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; Kurdi, Sikandra

Citation

Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; and Kurdi, Sikandra. 2024. Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of Forsa employers. MENA Regional Program Policy Note 25. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Northern Africa; Employment; Rural Areas; Women; Youth

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Resource thumbnail

Brief

Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of forsa employers

2023Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; Kurdi, Sikandra
Details

Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of forsa employers

Increasing formal employment for youth and women is a key goal of the Forsa pilot graduation intervention and Egyptian government policy in general. As detailed in Forsa evaluation reports, matching Takaful beneficiaries with jobs in the private sector is a major challenge from the perspective of households. In this policy note, we examine the challenges from the perspective of potential employers. We review literature of the market failures that may contribute to difficulties with job matching in rural Egypt and present results from a small telephone survey of Forsa employers.

Year published

2023

Authors

Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; Kurdi, Sikandra

Citation

Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; and Kurdi, Sikandra. 2023. Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of forsa employers. MENA Policy Note 24. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Northern Africa; Africa; Rural Areas; Private Sector; Surveys; Employment; Labour; Gender; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137062 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Research

Topics/Countries