From September 2024, Rowaida Moshrif will become Co-director and Head of Data of the WIL. This new role reflects the pivotal function that she has gradually been playing in the coordination of the WIL team and the development of the World Inequality Database (WID). In addition to this appointment, the new academic year has also seen new hires and changes to the team.
Introducing Rowaida Moshrif
Rowaida Moshrif is a fourth-year PhD student at École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). After moving to France in 2018 to pursue her master’s degree in economics at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, she joined the World Inequality Lab in 2020 as a Research Assistant. Over the years, she has taken on increasing responsibility while pursuing her PhD under the supervision of Thomas Piketty (PSE-EHESS) and Mohamed Saleh (LSE) at the Paris School of Economics.
Her research interests include land inequality in Egypt, economic history, and political economy. Her work primarily focuses on the long-term effects of Egypt’s 1952 land reform on land inequality and political outcomes.
Rowaida said: “It is an honor to step into this role and contribute to the ongoing mission of the World Inequality Lab. I am deeply grateful for the trust and support of my colleagues, and I look forward to furthering our research on global inequality.”
Rowaida will join Facundo Alvaredo, Lucas Chancel, and Thomas Piketty in leading the WIL, while Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman will transition into the roles of Scientific Co-Directors, emphasizing their long-standing involvement in the scientific supervision of the WIL.
A community supporting a collaborative and expanding project
For almost ten years, the WIL has worked to produce evidence-based research on the various dimensions of inequality. The results are disseminated through research papers, reports, events and in the media to stimulate public debate on inequality.
The WIL also hosts and maintains the WID, the most extensive open-access public database on global inequality dynamics. Today, the WID provides data on the evolution of the income and wealth distribution, as well as on gender and environmental inequalities.
A team of 18 thematic and regional coordinators is responsible for updating the database on an annual basis, in collaboration with a network of more than 200 researchers – known as WID fellows – from around the world. The next update is approaching, with data on pre-tax and post-tax inequality up to 2023 to be released in early November, followed by gender and wealth inequality data in December.
The WIL team has expanded significantly this year to support new research projects, welcoming 10 new Research Assistants and Economists. The years 2025 and 2026 will be pivotal with the release of a new World Inequality Report and the launch of the Global Justice Project.
Thomas Piketty said: “The WIL is fundamentally a collaborative project. Looking forward, we are grateful to work with a growing team and network of WID Fellows to pursue our mission of researching and fighting inequality.”
Lucas Chancel stressed: “We’re delighted that Rowaida Moshrif has accepted this new role, and we look forward to strengthening and developing WIL’s activities with her and our incredible network of colleagues, which we hope to expand even more in the coming years.”
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