I am a Professor of Economics at American University of Sharjah (AUS). I am also affiliated with the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP) in Lahore, Mahbub ul Haq Research Centre at LUMS and Aspire Leaders in Cambridge, MA (previously at Harvard). I also serve on the editorial board of Defence & Peace Economics. Previously, I have held fellow and faculty positions at Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University, South Asia Institute at Harvard University, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and Central Michigan University. 

My work is focused on energy economics, monetary policy effects (broader analysis), political economy of conflicts, trade and aid, and behavioral economics. I have published 29 peer-reviewed reserach papers in the well-known international journals as well as a refereed book chapter in Cambridge University Press. I have also published several policy papers and opinion pieces in outlets like Analytical Angle of Dawn, Regional Economist of the St. Louis Fed, and Finance & Development of IMF. My work has received coverage in numerous places such as Journalist's Resource of Harvard Kennedy School, Slate, Oxford University Press, and Academic Times, among others. My experimental research has been funded by AUS, JPAL/MIT, UK government, U of Michigan, Essex U, U Technology Sydney, and World Bank. 

I earned my Ph.D. degree in Economics from West Virginia University in 2007. Later I also completed two short courses, one in geographic information systems from Harvard and the other in impact evaluations from JPAL/MIT.