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Sikandra Kurdi

Brief Biography

Sikandra Kurdi is a development economist focused on research informing humanitarian and public policy in the MENA region. She is especially interested in the challenges of conducting rigorous research in fragile and conflict-affected states. She spent nine years at the International Food Policy Research Institute, including serving as head of the International Food Policy Research Institute Egypt office from 2024 to 2026. Her research on impact evaluations of the Takaful cash transfer program in Egypt and social protection interventions in Yemen has contributed to evidence-based programming and policy decisions. Kurdi holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Research Interest

  • Social protection

  • Humanitarian-development nexus

  • Research in fragile settings

  • Food policy

Education
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley, 2015
  • Specialist in mathematical methods in economics, Kazan State University, Russia, 2009
  • Bachelor's degree in economics with high honors, Swarthmore College, 2006
  • Bertelli, O. and Kurdi, S. 2026. "Inter-Group Cooperation and Conflict: Experimental Evidence from Yemen." Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics. https://doi.org/10.1111/obes.70039
  • En-Enbaby, H., Gilligan, D., Karachiwalla, N., Kassim, Y. and Kurdi, S. 2025. "Cash Transfers, Gender Norms, and Women’s Control Over Decision-Making in Egypt." Economic Development and Cultural Change. https://doi.org/10.1086/732909
  • Bliznashka, L., Elsabaagh, D., Kurdi, S., Ecker, O. and Gelli, A. 2024. "School Feeding for Improving Child Nutrition in Conflict-Affected Settings: Feasibility and Cost-Efficiency in Yemen." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15222
  • Breisinger, C., Kassim, Y., Kurdi, S., Randriamamonjy, J. and Thurlow, J. 2024. "From Food Subsidies to Cash Transfers in Egypt? Evaluating General Equilibrium Benefits and Trade-Offs." Journal of African Economies. https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejad006
  • Abay, K., Yozan, N., Kurdi, S. and Tafere, K. 2023. "Revisiting Poverty Trend and the Role of Social Protection Systems in Africa During the COVID-19 Pandemic." Journal of African Economies, 32 (Supplement 2). https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejac041
  • Abay, K., Breisinger, C., Glauber, J., Kurdi, S., Laborde, D. and Siddig, K. 2023. "The Russia-Ukraine War: Implications for Global and Regional Food Security and Potential Policy Responses." Global Food Security, 36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2023.100675
  • Brune, L., Karlan, D. and Kurdi, S. 2022. "Social Protection Amidst Social Upheaval: Examining the Impact of a Multi-Faceted Program for Ultra-Poor Households in Yemen." Journal of Development Economics, 155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102780
  • Kurdi, S. 2021. "The Nutritional Benefits of Cash Transfers in Humanitarian Crises: Evidence from Yemen." World Development, 148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105664
  • Figueroa, J.L. and Kurdi, S. 2020. "Ex-Post Adjustment for Measurement Error in Stunting Calculations: An Illustration From Egypt." Public Health Nutrition, 23 (5). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019003100
  • Kurdi, S., Figueroa, J.L. and Ibrahim, H. 2020. "Nutritional Training in a Humanitarian Context: Evidence From a Cluster Randomized Trial." Maternal and Child Nutrition, 16 (3). https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12973