The Banking Executive Magazine - June 2022 Issue

A Journey of Continuous Success… LATEST PUBLICATIONS BY DR. MAHMOUD MOHIELDIN Would Closing the Gender Digital Divide Close the Economic Gender Gap in Emerging Markets and De- veloping Economies? Authors: Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Executive Director, International Monetary Fund and Dr. Racha Ra- madan, Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences, Cairo University Abstract: COVID-19 crisis acceler- ated the use of information technol- ogy-based solutions, as e-learning and remote work became the new normal. Nevertheless, access to and use of technology are not gender neutral. In Emerging Markets and De- veloping Economies (EMDEs), women have less access to the inter- net and other technological tools than men. Limited access to technol- ogy may hinder women’s access to economic opportunities. Thus, the present paper investigates the impact of the digital gender divide on the gender gap in labor market participa- tion, controlling for the gender gap in education, social norms and other macro-economic characteristics of EMDEs and developed countries. Using World Development Indica- tors, Global Findex database and World Value Surveys for 2017, a two-stage least squares approach was used to control for the endo- geneity of the gender gap in access to internet. The results show that closing the gender gap in internet usage would reduce the gender gap in labor market participation. How- ever, this positive effect is lower in the EMDEs than in advanced economies, shedding the light on the importance of traditional gender roles as key determinant of the gen- der gap in labor market participation in EMDEs. The present results have important implications for policies targeting women empowerment (SDG5) and reducing inequalities (SDG10). Digital solutions could help segments of women manage and balance familial obligations with paid work better. Can Disaster Preparedness Change the Game? Mitigating the Health Impact of Disease Outbreaks Authors: Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Executive Director, International Monetary Fund and Dr. Amira El- Shal, Senior Policy Manager, J-PAL Middle East and North Africa and Dr. Eman Moustafa, Senior Consultant for the Macroeconomic Policy, Debt Sustainability and Forecasting Divi- sion of the African Development Bank Abstract: In times of epidemics and pandemics, depletion or diversion of health system resources from routine health care is common, posing seri- ous threats to primary care. This paper estimates the contemporane- ous and long-run effects of health disasters on maternal and child mor- tality in 111 countries during 2000- 2019 using two-way fixed-effects and two-step system general method of moments frameworks. We also provide evidence that indicates how health system, macroeconomic, in- stitutional, and structural character- istics can mitigate disaster effects. In low- and middle-income countries, health disasters increase maternal, under-5, and neonatal mortalities by 0.3%, 0.3%, and 0.2% instanta- neously and by 35%, 80%, and 26% after one year, respectively. Our esti- mates show that disaster prepared- ness can prevent these effects. However, other mitigators, namely health emergency finance, universal health coverage, education, gender equality, and water, sanitation, and hygiene coverage, have greater im- pact. the BANKING EXECUTIVE 26 ISSUE 162 JUNE 2022