I am a Professor of Economics at American University of Sharjah (AUS). I am also affiliated as a reserach fellow with the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP) in Lahore and Mahbub ul Haq Research Centre at LUMS. 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, political economy of trade, aid and conflicts, and behavioral economics. I have published refereed papers in journals such as American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Oxford Economic Papers, Journal of International Money & Finance, Europen Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Conflict Resoulution, Journal of Peace Research, and Economics Letters, among others. 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 including Journalist's Resource of Harvard Kennedy School, Slate, Oxford University Press, and Academic Times. My experimental research has been funded by AUS, JPAL/MIT, UK government, among others. 

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/ILO.