The Ministry of Planning holds the second workshop on the results of the economic census

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, headed by Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning, held the second workshop to review the results of the economic census.



The workshop was organized by the Macroeconomic Reform and Stability Project in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning, the US Agency for International Development, and the Baseera Center.
The workshop focused on the use of the data of the fifth and final economic census issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMS) in preparing 12 working papers to support decision-makers through a set of recommendations on several economic topics.
 Many economics professors participated in the workshop, including Dr. Mona Essam, Head of the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry, and Dr. Reham Rizk, Head of the Modeling Unit at the Ministry. 
Moreover, two working papers were discussed during the workshop entitled "Stimulating the added value of enterprises for sustainable development in Egypt" and "The impact of the spatial concentration of economic activities on the productivity of companies in Egypt."
Kamali indicated that this cooperation comes in line with the ministry's tendency to formulate economic policies based on research evidence and scientific studies.
Kamali referred to the importance of the economic census data, which is issued every five years and provides data on all types and levels of economic establishments in all sectors, as well as a description of economic activities in each governorate in terms of the number of establishments, the size of operation, production, value-added and investment.
Dr. Susana Al-Masah, Professor of Economics at Cairo University, reviewed her working paper on stimulating the added value of enterprises for sustainable development in Egypt, which explains the spatial and sectoral variation in the generation of added value, as well as the direct relationship between the age of the facility and the size of employment on the one hand, and the added value on the other hand.
 The results of the research also indicate that there is a gap between the contribution of females and males in generating added value due to the low rates of female employment compared to males in most sectors.
 The research also indicates the significant contribution of small and medium-sized companies to economic activity despite their low productivity compared to large companies.
The recommendations of the paper referred to the importance of raising the rate of productivity, especially in the industrial sector, by relying on modern technologies and advanced work systems, as well as enhancing investment in human capital through the development of vocational education and training programs.
Dr. Ahmed Ragab, Professor of Economics at Cairo University, also dealt with a policy paper on the impact of the spatial concentration of economic activities on the productivity of companies in Egypt.
 Rajab explained that the results of the research show a positive correlation between the economic diversity of the governorates and the productivity of companies, especially in urban governorates.
 The study's recommendations highlighted the importance of having a comprehensive vision to localize these economic blocs geographically and to redraw a national map for the development of existing clusters.