Reports & papers
“Global Economic Diversification Index 2023”, report released at the World Government Summit, Feb 2023
"Global Economic Diversification Index 2023" was released by the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) at the World...
15 February, 2023
Reports & papers
“COVID-19 and its impact on Arab economic integration”, UN ESCWA report, Nov 2022
"COVID-19 and its impact on Arab economic integration", prepared by Nasser Saidi & Aathira Prasad, is available on UN ESCWA...
10 February, 2023
Events & Publications
“Digitalization and the Future of Global Economy”: Panelist at the 8th Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate, 14 Nov 2021
Dr Nasser Saidi joined as a panelist in the session titled "Digitalization and the Future of Global Economy", at the Eight Annual...
16 November, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 15 Apr 2021: Will Middle East’s growth prospects be vulnerable to external debt levels & limited fiscal room?
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here The IMF issued its latest Regional Economic Outlook for the...
15 April, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 8 Apr 2021: Risks to the Rosy Outlook as World Recovery Seemingly Accelerates
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here Chart 1 Inspite of battling new Covid19 restrictions, PMIs run...
8 April, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 1 Apr 2021: Reforms ramping up as GCC nations plan recovery in a post-Covid world
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here Chart 1 Saudi Arabia’s Shareek investment package to...
1 April, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 25 Mar 2021: Will the Middle East’s vaccination efforts lead to a faster recovery in travel & hospitality?
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here Chart 1 Covid19 cases in the Middle East continue to rise at a...
25 March, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 4 Mar 2021: Are economic activity indicators in UAE & Saudi Arabia moderating, à la PMI?
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here Chart 1 Will vaccines give a jab to growth PMI readings...
5 March, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 18 Feb 2021: The GCC Labour Market & Remittances – A Forward-looking Viewpoint
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here It is no secret that the GCC is home to one of the largest migrant...
18 February, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 11 Feb 2021: Will Accelerated Vaccine Distribution Catapult UAE to Faster Economic Growth?
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here The UAE has seen a surge in Covid19 cases recently, touching a...
11 February, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 4 Feb 2021: A Covid19 Balancing Act – Cases, Vaccinations & Economic Activity
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here 1 Covid19 cases rise in the Middle East & so do...
4 February, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 28 Jan 2021
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here 1 Global Recovery in 2021, albeit divergent & uncertain...
28 January, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 21 Jan 2021: Uncertainty & Risks on one hand and Vaccinations on the other
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here 1 Global Uncertainty Drops, but Economic Policy Uncertainty...
21 January, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 14 Jan 2021: Trade, Tourism & the Global Vaccination Drive
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here 1 Trade recovers in Q3; services trade lags WTO’s latest Q3...
14 January, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 7 Jan 2021: UAE’s silver linings – has the country turned a corner?
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here 1 Heatmap of Manufacturing/ non-oil private sector PMIs PMIs...
7 January, 2021
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 23 Dec 2020: V or W-shaped recovery? Surge in Covid19 cases & new strain to dampen growth in Q4
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here Chart 1: Uncertainty in the time of Covid19 Both Economic...
23 December, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 17 Dec 2020: Green shoots (of recovery) in the UAE & Takeaways from Saudi 2021 Budget
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here Chart 1: PMIs in UAE/ Dubai remain below-50 for the 2nd...
17 December, 2020
Events & Publications
"A COVID-19-induced macroeconomic overview of the GCC", Keynote presentation at Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East, 8 Dec 2020
Dr Nasser Saidi, a keynote speaker at the latest Bonds, Loans and Sukuk Middle East event, held virtually on 8-9 Dec 2020,...
13 December, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 10 Dec 2020: Vaccine Exuberance, PMIs and Indicators of Economic Activity
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here Chart 1: PMIs in the...
10 December, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 26 Nov 2020: UAE needs to attract FDI into viable, sustainable economic diversification sectors & projects
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here UAE needs to attract FDI into viable, sustainable economic...
26 November, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 19 Nov 2020: Knowledge-based human capital to drive UAE’s diversification efforts
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here Knowledge-based human capital to drive the next phase of UAE’s...
19 November, 2020
Events & Publications
"Post-Coronavirus Economy: Trajectories of Global Order": Panelist at Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate, 11 Nov 2020
Dr Nasser Saidi joined as a panelist in the session titled "Post-Coronavirus Economy: Trajectories of Global Order", at the...
12 November, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 11 Nov 2020: PMIs & Recovery (?) Indicators in the Middle East/ GCC
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here PMIs & Recovery () Indicators in the Middle East/ GCC: A...
12 November, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 4 Nov 2020: Rising budget deficits & debt levels in the Middle East/ GCC Require Sustained Fiscal Adjustment
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here As the world awaits results of the US election, oil prices have settled...
4 November, 2020
Events & Publications
Panel discussion "Managing energy transition in the Middle East" at World Energy Week Live, 7 Oct 2020
The collapse in oil demand and prices due to Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the resource-dominant countries of the...
29 October, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 28 Oct 2020: US Presidential elections & impact on the Middle East/ GCC
Download a PDF copy of this week’s insight piece here FiveThirtyEight, in its extensive analysis and simulations, favours...
28 October, 2020
Events & Publications
Panelist at the IMF’s MENA Conference "Coping With Covid19", 27 Oct 2020
Dr Nasser Saidi participated as a panelist at the IMF's event related to the Regional Economic Outlook report for the Middle East...
28 October, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 20 Oct 2020: Expect a Protracted Economic Recovery in Middle East/ GCC
Download a PDF copy of this week’s economic commentary here Fig 1 Global Economic Growth to decline by 44% this year, before...
20 October, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 13 Oct 2020: PMIs, Mobility & Economic Recovery
Download a PDF copy of this week’s economic commentary here 1Global PMIs, shipping & trade PMIs across the globe were...
13 October, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 29 Sep 2020: Supporting the recovery of UAE’s private sector (focus on SME finance)
[This is an edited version of the post issued originally on 29th Sep; Table 1 & related text have been updated] Supporting...
29 September, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 22 Sep 2020: Looking beyond Saudi inflation & oil exports
Charts of the Week: Saudi inflation numbers (consumer & wholesale prices) show the impact of the tripling of VAT For now, a...
22 September, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 14 Sep 2020: A Balance Act as UAE remains open amid Covid19 surge
Charts of the Week: This is a crucial period for GCC, including the UAE How can one decide on the balance between reopening the...
14 September, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 10 Aug 2020: Lebanon's way forward, PMIs & Mobility, Saudi monetary statistics, Arab FDI
The Beirut blast and its recovery/ reconstruction dominate news in the Middle East Our take on the path for Lebanon’s economic...
10 August, 2020
Events & Publications
“Tackling the Climate Emergency with Climate Finance”, Emirates Environmental Group webinar, 28 Jul 2020
Dr Nasser Saidi participated as a panelist in the webinar organised by the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) on 28th of July –...
30 July, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 27 Jul 2020: Charts on the spread of Covid19 in the GCC + Global trade
Charts of the Week 1 Spread of Covid19 in the GCC Most GCC nations have begun a phased re-opening of their economies after being...
27 July, 2020
Economic commentary
Weekly Insights 20 Jul 2020: UAE, Covid19 & economic activity after re-opening post-lockdown
UAE, Covid19 & economic activity after re-opening post-lockdown With UAE easing restrictions imposed due to the Covid19...
20 July, 2020
Events & Publications
"The Economic Consequences of COVID-19 & Impact on Clean Energy", CEBC webinar, 6 May 2020
Dr Nasser Saidi's presentation titled "The Economic Consequences of COVID-19 & Impact on Clean Energy" was part of the Clean...
7 May, 2020
Events & Publications
Panelist at the launch of IMF's MENA Regional Economic Outlook, 27 Apr 2020
Dr Nasser Saidi participated as a panelist at the IMF's launch of the Regional Economic Outlook report for the Middle East and...
28 April, 2020
Events & Publications
Pandenomics 2020, webinar presentation at the Athenaeum Dialogue, 16 Apr 2020
Dr Nasser Saidi was invited to speak about the impact of Covid19 on the global and regional economy on 16th Apr 2020, as part of...
24 April, 2020
Events & Publications
"Low Oil Prices, Coronavirus, and the Future of Gulf Economies", Panel Discussion, AGSIW webinar, 7 Apr 2020
Titled "Low Oil Prices, Coronavirus, and the Future of Gulf Economies", this panel discussion was held by the Arab Gulf States...
9 April, 2020
