MSc Economics of the Middle East

02/09/2026

Our new policy note on "Women’s earnings and support for women’s education in Afghanistan": https://devpolicy.org/womens-earnings-and-support-for-womens-education-in-afghanistan-20260902/

Centrum für Nah- und Mittelost-Studien Marburg

Even if Afghanistan’s bans on girls’ secondary and higher education were lifted tomorrow, entrenched household attitudes could still constrain enrolment, according to new research by Mohammad Reza Farzanegan and Mohammad Haroon Asadi.

Drawing on The Asia Foundation surveys of more than 69,000 respondents across all 34 provinces between 2014 and 2021, the study finds men were 6.2 percentage points less likely than women to support secondary education, 12.6 points less likely to support tertiary education, 14.8 points less likely to support study in another province and 15.3 points less likely to support study abroad.

Where women contributed to household income, men’s opposition was lower - by about four percentage points for secondary education, 5.3 for tertiary, 4.7 for study in another province and 3.1 for study abroad. Women’s earnings also weakened the link between insecurity and restrictive attitudes.

The authors caution that women’s right to education is the central objective and should not depend on any economic case for it.

https://devpolicy.org/womens-earnings-and-support-for-womens-education-in-afghanistan-20260902/

05/08/2026

We are pleased to share a new open-access publication by Professor Mohammad Reza Farzanegan and Mohamad Alkurdi Albarawi, a former student in our M.Sc. programme in Economics of the Middle East ( ).

Published in the European Journal of Political Economy, the study examines how corruption shapes the relationship between economic sanctions and domestic conflict.

Using data from 122 countries between 1996 and 2020, the authors find that trade sanctions are associated with different outcomes depending on the institutional conditions of the targeted country. In settings with higher corruption, trade sanctions are associated with more conflict-related deaths. The findings suggest that weak institutions, unequal access to scarce resources, and rent capture can translate external economic pressure into greater domestic instability.

The study highlights an important policy implication: sanctions do not operate in an institutional vacuum. Their consequences depend partly on who bears the economic losses, who controls scarce resources, and whether public institutions can protect vulnerable households.

Article:
“Destabilizing the corrupt: Economic sanctions and their conflict-inducing consequences”

Open access:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2026.102885

18/05/2026

The war has exposed the political economy of volatility.
When chaos becomes politically useful and economically rewarding, powerful insiders can benefit from instability while ordinary citizens absorb the costs.
In an article in Project Syndicate, Prof. Farzanegan (Centrum für Nah- und Mittelost-Studien Marburg) examines how coercion, uncertainty, and private gain interact in the Iran war.

Mohammad Reza Farzanegan explains how volatility creates distorted incentives that make escalation more profitable than peace.

01/05/2026

New letter in Science: “Support besieged Iranian scientists”

A new letter by Reza Majdzadeh (University of Essex) and Mohammad Reza Farzanegan (Centrum für Nah- und Mittelost-Studien Marburg) has been published in Science.

The letter discusses the multiple and reinforcing pressures facing Iranian scientists today: military conflict, damage to research infrastructure, disruptions to electricity and telecommunications, internet shutdowns, sanctions, blocked academic payments, visa barriers, and increasing institutional isolation.

These constraints do not only affect individual researchers. They disrupt universities, limit opportunities for students, and weaken global scientific exchange.

The authors call for concrete policy responses, including humanitarian science corridors, reliable access to journals and databases, lawful channels for academic payments, and targeted support for researchers working under crisis conditions.

Protecting scientists in such environments is not only a national concern. It is essential for the integrity and continuity of global science.

Read more:

HomeScienceVol. 392, No. 6797Support besieged Iranian scientistsBack To Vol. 392, No. 6797 No accessLetter Share on Support besieged Iranian scientistsReza Majdzadeh and Mohammad Reza FarzaneganAuthors Info & AffiliationsScience30 Apr 2026Vol 392, Issue 6797p. 473DOI: 10.1126/science.aeh3242 PREVIOU...

17/04/2026

Global food security is often framed in terms of grain supply. Our new correspondence published in Nature Food shows this is incomplete.

A large share of nitrogen fertilizers, a critical input for modern agriculture, passes through the Strait of Hormuz. This creates a hidden but significant vulnerability. Disruptions in this chokepoint can simultaneously raise energy prices, fertilizer costs, and ultimately food prices.

Our evidence also highlights uneven exposure across countries. While Brazil benefits from diversified supply, countries like India and Australia rely much more heavily on this route and are therefore more vulnerable.

Strengthening global food security requires shifting attention beyond crops to input supply chains. Diversification is not optional.

Read the correspondence here:
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-026-01340-1
Centrum für Nah- und Mittelost-Studien Marburg

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01/11/2025

"Health safeguards under the UN's reimposition of sanctions on Iran" (Volume 406, Issue 10515, p2056-2057, November 01, 2025)

Maziar Moradi-Lakeh ∙ Ruth Gibson ∙ Mohammad Farzanegan ∙ Jerg Gutmann ∙ Reza Majdzadehe

On Sept 28, 2025, the UN Security Council snapback under Resolution 2231 reinstated multilateral on related to insufficient compliance in international oversight of its nuclear programme.

This Correspondence in The LANCET does not take a position on the UN Security Council decision to reimpose multilateral sanctions. We focus on the implications of these geopolitical decisions for Iran's population, against the backdrop of devastating impacts on at-risk populations under previous sanctions.

On Sept 28, 2025, the UN Security Council snapback under Resolution 2231 reinstated multilateral sanctions on Iran related to insufficient compliance in international oversight of its nuclear programme.1 This Correspondence does not take a position on the UN Security Council decision to reimpose mul...

31/10/2025

Our latest research on "Political connections and business sentiment in the region" has just been published with Springer Nature in " ":
Read here: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10602-025-09488-x

We tend to believe that business success is built on tangible foundations: a superior product, a brilliant market strategy, sound financial management, and operational efficiency. These are the metrics tracked on spreadsheets and reported to shareholders. But what if one of the most powerful drivers of a company's trajectory isn't found in a financial statement, but in the collective mindset of its leadership?

Our new study focusing on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region uncovers an interesting factor in corporate success: a firm's psychological outlook. Our research is particularly relevant in a post-Arab Spring context, where scholarly debates about crony capitalism have surged. It reveals that a company's confidence and optimism about its future can be a significant advantage, and it identifies a surprising driver of this sentiment: political connections.
Centrum für Nah- und Mittelost-Studien Marburg

18/10/2025

International sanctions are used as a powerful tool of statecraft, but their broader societal consequences are often overlooked. Since 2012, comprehensive sanctions on Iran have drastically eroded its middle class, undoing decades of social progress and undermining a key engine of economic stability...

01/10/2025

International sanctions imposed on Iran from 2012 have reduced the size of the country’s middle class, according to new research summarised in this column. The findings highlight the profound social consequences of economic pressure, not least given the crucial role of that segment of society for national innovation, growth and stability.

The study underscores the need for policies to safeguard the civilian population in countries targeted by sanctions.

International sanctions on Iran are likely to become more severe over the coming months. A recent failed resolution in the United Nations (UN) Security Council to continue the sanctions relief on 19 September 2025 has paved the way for the automatic re-imposition of pre-2015 UN sanctions through the...

27/09/2025

Beyond national resilience: liability for impact!

Rodríguez and colleagues1 offer compelling evidence linking sanctions to age-specific mortality. The authors showed that US-imposed unilateral sanctions significantly increase mortality in children and people aged 60–80 years. These findings align with previous evidence and have profound global h...