Salah Eldin Mazen Al-Ajla Economic Researcher
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Research Papers

Research Papers

Peer-reviewed publications, unpublished working papers and policy briefs — each with a summary on the site and its full text available to download.

Working Paper Featured

From Capital Abundance to Productive Credit

The binding constraint on SME lending in the Gulf is informational and institutional, not a shortage of capital. This working paper sets out four interlocking infrastructure pillars that turn abundant liquidity into productive credit, reviews the international evidence critically, and proposes a measurable roadmap.

Macroeconomics & Development 3 min read
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Research Paper Peer-reviewed

The Impact of the Israeli War on the Palestinian Economy in the Gaza Strip: The Challenges of Economic Recovery

Peer-reviewed research in Omran Journal (Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies), Issue 53, Vol. 14, Summer 2025, pp. 123–147. The paper measures the war's impact on economic activity in Gaza through quantitative indicators and examines the concept, challenges and required interventions of economic recovery.

Development Economics 1 min read
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Research Paper Featured

The Effect of Economic, Political and Climatic Factors on the Agricultural Economy in the Gaza Strip

An ARDL model on quarterly series for 1994–2024, measuring the effect of GDP, exports, bombardment, blockade and the SPEI-6 drought index on agricultural value added in Gaza.

Development Economics 2 min read
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Research Paper Featured

Did the Israeli Assault on Gaza Compound the Effects of Climate Change on the Agricultural Sector?

An econometric study linking the SPEI drought index to the NDVI vegetation index across Gaza's governorates, testing whether Israeli bombardment of agricultural land amplified the effect of climate change on the sector.

Development Economics 2 min read
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Research Paper

The Agricultural Economy in the Gaza Strip: An Analytical Approach Under Compounded Crises

Why does Gaza's latent agricultural potential fail to become a development lever? A statistical comparison of the 2010 and 2021 censuses reveals a shift from long-cycle cultivation toward quick-return activity.

Development Economics 2 min read
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Working Paper

How Far Do Economic, Political and Security Conditions Affect the Monthly Income of Palestinian Households?

An econometric study on 2022 Arab Index data measuring the effect of economic, political and security conditions on Palestinian household income, controlling for demographic and geographic factors.

Development Economics 1 min read
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Working Paper

Administrative Corruption and the Necessity of Confronting It

Administrative corruption as a pathology afflicting the state's administrative apparatus from top to bottom — a reflective paper on its definition, forms, causes and the means of confronting it.

Public Administration 1 min read
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Policy Brief

Social Innovation as a Mechanism for Equality-Oriented Education Policy in Finland

How did Finland turn a low-quality, bureaucratic education system into the highest-ranked in the OECD? A brief covering six innovative reforms, their results, the factors behind their success, and what makes them sustainable.

Public Administration 2 min read
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Working Paper

The Economic Impact of the Electricity Crisis on the Gaza Strip

A descriptive and quantitative study of how more than fifteen years of power cuts have affected Gaza's economic sectors — raising operating costs and depressing productivity, sectoral value added and GDP.

Development Economics 2 min read
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Working Paper

The Economic Role of Government in the History of Economic Thought

Tracing how the state's economic role evolved across schools of economic thought — from the classical night-watchman state and Marxist central planning, through Keynes and neoliberalism, to the debate reopened by the global financial crisis.

Development Economics 1 min read
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Working Paper

The Effectiveness of Foreign Aid in the Palestinian Economy

Why do the positive effects of foreign aid remain weak despite more than US$36 billion delivered by 2020? A paper analysing aid's impact on the Palestinian economy and the reasons its developmental effectiveness stays limited.

Development Economics 1 min read
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Working Paper

Renewable Energy in Palestine: Reality and Obstacles to Development

The Palestinian electricity sector's 86% dependence on Israel makes energy security a structural question. An article on how renewable energy use has developed in Palestine and the obstacles it faces.

Development Economics 1 min read
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Working Paper

The Relationship Between Wages and Unemployment in the Palestinian Economy, 2004–2020

A time-series econometric study finding a positive long-run relationship between nominal wages, inflation and unemployment — contrary to the Phillips curve — attributed to structural distortion, the absence of a national currency, and imported inflation.

Development Economics 1 min read
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Working Paper

The Role of Productive Sectors in Economic Growth in Palestine, 1995–2020

Why do gains in merchandise exports fail to show up in GDP? A descriptive and econometric study of how industry and agriculture contribute to growth, and the external and internal constraints on both.

Development Economics 1 min read
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Presentation

The Effects of Oil on Development and the Rise of the Gulf Cooperation Council

How did oil shape development and governance in the region? A research presentation comparing resource-rich labour-poor and resource-rich labour-abundant states, covering the resource curse, state autonomy and capacity, and the Gulf's distinctive labour-import strategy.

Development Economics 2 min read
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Working Paper

Youth Unemployment in Palestine and the Role of SMEs in Addressing It

Youth unemployment (15–24) rose from 20% in 2007 to 44.7% in 2017, reaching 73% among young women in 2020. A paper analysing the characteristics of the problem and the role SMEs can play in addressing it.

Development Economics 1 min read
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Working Paper

Economic Development in Tunisia: Reality and Prospects

A reading of fifty years of Tunisian development (1970–2019): income, growth and economic structure; poverty levels and income distribution; external debt and foreign investment; and Tunisia's relationship with the World Bank and the IMF.

Development Economics 2 min read
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