COVID-19 and youth unemployment in MENA countries: a matching approach

The present study uses a rich dataset containing more than 1900 individuals from three important MENA countries: Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. The dataset is based on the Economic Research Forum (ERF) COVID-19 MENA Monitor, which consists of household and individual-level surveys during the COVID-19 period for these three MENA countries. The present study examines the effect of COVID-19 on youth unemployment in MENA countries in the post-COVID-19 period. Using a rich individual-level dataset, propensity score matching analysis is utilized. The propensity score matching analysis effectively controls unobservable differences across individuals during the pandemic. The propensity score matching analyses show that young employes were more likely to become unemployed than their older counterparts during the pandemic period. Furthermore, the results also show that young workers with formal contracts have a higher probability of becoming unemployed than their male and older counterparts with formal and informal contracts. The policymakers can design a policy framework to minimize this problem during external shocks.