Policy Research Working Paper10663Could Digital Inclusion Close the Gender Economic Gap in the MENA Region? Mahmoud MohieldinRacha Ramadan Middle East and North Africa RegionOffice of the Chief EconomistJanuary 2024 Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure Authorized Produced by the Research Support TeamAbstractThe Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.Policy Research Working Paper 10663Closing the gender digital divide by ensuring equal access to and benefit of the internet may reduce economic inequali-ties and close the gender gap in employment by providing new economic opportunities and facilitating access to market information. This paper estimates the impact of digital inclusion, measured by the Inclusive Internet Index on the female-to-male labor force participation ratio, while controlling for other economic and social factors. Using data from the World Development Indicators, the Econ-omist Intelligence Unit database, and the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law database for 13 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region for four years (2018 to 2021), a pooled cross section dataset is con-structed. The model is estimated using generalized least squares to control for heteroskedasticity. The results show that an inclusive internet environment would reduce the gender gap in the labor force. Other key drivers include the structure of the economic growth, norms, and gender roles in the society. These results are relevant for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals agenda, mainly goals 5 and 10.This paper is a product of the Office of the Chief Economist, Middle East and North Africa Region. It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at http://www.worldbank.org/prwp. The authors may be contacted at racha.ramadan@feps.edu.eg. Could Digital Inclusion Close the Gender Economic Gap in the MENA Region?1 Mahmoud Mohieldin2 – Racha Ramadan3 Keywords: Access and Connectivity, digital divide, Female Labor Market, Gender and Economic Empowerment, MENA countries. JEL classification: D63, O10, O33 1 This work was supported by the MEN Chief Economist Office under the labor and gender research programs (TTLs: Nelly Elmallakh and Nazmul Chaudhury) This paper is a product of the Office of the Chief Economist, Middle East and North Africa region. It is part of a larger effort by the World Bank to provide open access to its research and make a contribution to development policy discussions around the world. Policy Research Working Papers are also posted on the Web at http://www.worldbank.org/prwp. The author(s) may be contacted at racha.ramadan@feps.edu.eg. 2 Professor at Faculty of Economics and Political Science-–Cairo University. IMF Executive Director and the United Nation’s Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Email: Mahmoud.mohieldin@feps.edu.eg. Google Scholar page: Mahmoud Mohieldin 3 Professor at Faculty of Economics and Political Science– Cairo University. Director of the National Office of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) in Egypt. Email: Racha.ramadan@feps.edu.eg. Google Scholar page: Racha Ramadan 2 Introduction The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has the second largest gender economic gap, after South Asia, with an average population-weighted score of 63.4%. The regional average score on the Economic Participation and Opportunity sub-index is 46% in spite of an educational attainment score of 99.5% (Global Gender Gap Report, 2022). Female labor force participation (FLFP) is the lowest worldwide with a rate of 19.6% in 2021 (World Development Indicators, 2022). The gender economic gap is driven by several factors, including individual and household socioeconomic characteristics, the structure of economic growth, educational attainment, trade openness, and population growth (Assaad et al, 2014; Rodgers and Zveglich, 2012; Elborgh-Woytek et al, 2013; Nazier and Ramadan, 2017;