Impact of COVID-19 on the unemployment rate: Empirical application on eighteen MENA countries

Jul 10, 2022 Rosette GHOSSOUB 1183 Views

Rosette GHOSSOUB SAYEGH
Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth, Faculté de Sciences Économiques, Centre de Documentation et de Recherche Économique (CEDREC), Liban
rosette.sayegh@usj.edu.lb
https://orcid.org/000-0002-7576-1619


Nisrine HAMDAN SAADE
Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth, Faculté de Sciences Économiques, Centre de Documentation et de Recherche Économique (CEDREC), Liban
nisrine.hamdanesaade@usj.edu.lb
https://orcid.org/000-0002-5173-2143


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Abstract : The consequences of the COVID-19 which devastated our planet was disastrous in terms of health and economic situation. The purpose of this article is to study the re­percussions of the days of lockdown and the human capital index on the unemployment rate, in general and on young people in particular. The study covers eighteen countries in the MENA region. The econometric results have shown that the human capital index has a negative impact on the overall unemployment rate and on young people specifically. These results also indicated that strict confinement measures increase unemployment rate, unlike soft confinement ones.

Keywords : unemployment rate, lockdown, COVID-19 pandemic, human capital.

JEL classification : E24, F10, I10, J24.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18559/RIELF.2022.1.4

Rosette GHOSSOUB