Tarik M. Yousef

Senior Fellow and Director

Bio

Tarik M. Yousef is a senior fellow and director of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. Prior, he served as senior fellow and director of the Brookings Doha Center and was a nonresident senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. He is a research fellow with the Economic Research Forum in Cairo.

His career has spanned the academic and think tank world at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. His involvement with public policy includes working in the Middle East Department at the International Monetary Fund, the Middle East and North Africa region at the World Bank, and the UN Millennium Project.

He has contributed more than 75 articles, chapters, and reports, and co-edited several volumes including most recently “The Belt and Road Initiative: China-Middle East Cooperation in an Age of Geopolitical Turbulence” (Brookings Doha Center and the Shanghai Academy for Social Sciences, 2019); “Public Sector Reform in the Middle East and North Africa: Lessons of Experience for a Region in Transition” (Brookings Press, 2020); and “The Gulf Cooperation Council at Forty: Risk & Opportunity in a Changing World” (Brookings Press, 2021).

Yousef has served on the boards of the Middle East Economics Association; United Nations Development Programme Human Development Reports; Arab Human Development Report; Arab Knowledge Report; Gender Economic Research and Policy Analysis in the Arab World; The Social and Economic Survey Research Institute; the Global Agenda Councils of the World Economic Forum; and the Arab Banking Corporation.

Research Areas

  • Global economy
  • Political economy
  • Governance
  • Geopolitics

Countries of Focus

  • GCC
  • North Africa
  • Mashreq
  • Libya

Other Areas of Interest

  • Policy reform
  • Political transitions
  • Banking and finance
  • Public policy

Education

  • Ph.D., Economics, Harvard University, 1996.
  • B.A., Economics, University of Oregon, 1990.

Articles

In a world where health disparities dictate life outcomes, the need for inclusive and equitable health solutions is more pressing than ever. The first convening of the Doha Global South Health Policy Initiative held this week in Doha as a partnership between the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and the Bill & Melinda Gates… Continue reading Bridging the Gap: A Call for Inclusive Health Solutions from Doha
Tarik M. Yousef, Dr. Chris Elias
Learn about the challenges that hinder economic growth in Kuwait and the potential solutions that a new Kuwaiti Emir Minister. Can lead Kuwait to a better future?
Tarik M. Yousef, Robert P. Beschel Jr.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is entering its fourth month with no end in sight. Council experts explore various dimensions of the fallout.
Adel Abdel Ghafar, Galip Dalay, Omar H. Rahman, Beverley Milton Edwards, Tarik M. Yousef, Abdalftah Hamed Ali, Alhala Alkuwari, Ranj Alaaldin, Sahar Khamis
A new oversight body could bring much needed clarity to Libya’s finances. But it also risks entrenching the problems it was set up to solve.
Michael G. Schaeffer, Tarik M. Yousef
With its Vision 2030 plan, Saudi Arabia is attempting to move away from economic dependence on hydrocarbons. Given the vast resources that the kingdom is deploying, the enthusiasm shown by young Saudis, and the speed at which reforms are moving forward, the strategy could ultimately benefit the entire Middle East.
Tarik M. Yousef, Rabah Arezki
As a region, the economies of the Middle East and North Africa sit at the bottom of world rankings on transparency. With this affecting everything from levels of corruption to foreign direct investment and resilience to external shocks, countries in the MENA region would be best served by creating more transparency and sharing accurate information.
Robert P. Beschel Jr., Tarik M. Yousef
Twenty years have passed since the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, leaving the country and the wider region forever changed. In this Council Views, Middle East Council experts reflect on this seminal moment in the region’s modern history and what has ensued in the two decades since. 
Galip Dalay, Omar H. Rahman, Ranj Alaaldin, Faozi Al-Goidi, Adel Abdel Ghafar, Robert P. Beschel Jr., Tarik M. Yousef, Larbi Sadiki
The devastating earthquakes and aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria have resulted in a massive loss of lives and infrastructure, with many more still injured, homeless, and vulnerable. What are the various aspects of the aftermath and policy implications of this tragedy?
Tarik M. Yousef, Nader S. Kabbani, Ahmet F. Aysan, Larbi Sadiki, Marc Owen Jones, Ranj Alaaldin
With the Islamic Republic engulfed in crisis, Middle East Council experts weigh in on the protests rocking the country, issues of accountability, and what they mean for the wider region.
Omar H. Rahman, Tarik M. Yousef, Ranj Alaaldin, Noha Aboueldahab, Galip Dalay
With less than one week left before the start of the tournament, scheduled for November 20 through December 18, 2022, experts from the Middle East Council on Global Affairs reflect below on the various dimensions of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Tarik M. Yousef, Marc Owen Jones, Ranj Alaaldin, Nejla Ben Mimoune, Faozi Al-Goidi, Beverley Milton Edwards, Adel Abdel Ghafar
In 2002, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) produced a remarkable and far-reaching document titled the Arab Human Development Report. Written largely by Arab authors, the report mobilized a wealth of data to argue persuasively that the lack of socio-economic development within the Arab region is the product of three fundamental deficits in freedom, knowledge,… Continue reading Twenty Years of Governance Reform: What’s Next for the MENA Region?
Tarik M. Yousef, Robert P. Beschel Jr.