Youth Unemployment, Gender and Institutions During Transition: Evidence from the Arab Spring

Youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the highest in the world surpassing all geopolitical regions. The MENA region witnessed sweeping changes negatively affecting the labor market and markedly increasing unemployment rates following the so-called Arab Spring that began in 2011. This paper meticulously examines the microeconomic determinants of youth unemployment in the MENA region using a unique and novel data on young people aged 15–29 from the year 2016. The results show that being a male and graduated from a public school increase the probability of being unemployed. Moreover, job concerns, corruption, and unequal rights in the society are also found to have a positive incidence on unemployment. However, we find that enhancing gender equality in the labor market, education, family codes, and political participation decreases the probability of employment. Similarly, the results indicate that improving economic inclusion in the post-Arab Spring decreases the probability of unemployment.