I am a NUAcT Fellow in Economics of the Creative Industries at Newcastle Business School and the Creative PEC, United Kingdom. I have also been an Assistant Professor in Economics at King Saud University for several years. I hold an MSc in Economics from the University of York and a PhD in Economics from the University of Reading, where I have been a Visiting Fellow leading a study on inequality beliefs.

My current research focuses on the social value and well-being of the arts and culture and I am a P-I on a research grant (Assessing the Value of the Arts Beyond Conventional Metrics) supported by the Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia.

My research background involves global and cross-country analysis to better understand the role of institutions in shaping unequal outcomes, which broadly draws on the political economy of institutions in relation to sustainability. I am interested more broadly in sustainability issues and the role of institutions in generating inequalities. This interest spans various fields, from energy-environmental economics to the creative industries.

Research interests and prospective PhD supervision

Publications

Working papers

Work in-progress

Selected research activities

Teaching experience

When I am off work, I enjoy diving and being close to nature. I also enjoy painting and visiting art galleries.

Contact: sarah.najm(at)newcastle.ac.uk

Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-najm-b0172627

Research interests and prospective PhD supervision

I supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students in Economics, with current PhD co-supervision in the area of Economics of Well-being and Social Norms.

I welcome proposals from prospective PhD students in the following broad areas: Well-being; Inequalities and Social Policy; Sustainability and Environmental Economics; Cultural and Creative Industries.

Publications

Najm, S. 2019. The Green Paradox and Budgetary Institutions. Energy Policy, 133, 110846. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421519304240)
Najm, S. and Matsumoto, K. 2020. Does renewable energy substitute LNG international trade in the energy transition? Energy Economics, 92, 104964.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988320303042?dgcid=author )
Tsani, S. and Najm, S. 2021. “Green Policies and Sustainable Development in Saudi Arabia” In the Handbook of Sustainable Politics and Economics of Natural Resources, Edward Elgar Publishing. (https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781789908763/9781789908763.00018.xml)

Working papers

Inequality Beliefs (with Marina Della Giusta and Steven Bosworth)
Wealth and Mental Health in Saudi Arabia (with Wadi Alonazi, Yasmin Altwaijri) (Under review)
Is China a pollution haven for the G7 economies?
Attitudes towards Economics as a choice of major.

Work in-progress

Arts and Well-being in the UK (with Sarah Jewell)
Air pollution, urbanisation, and wellbeing (with Andi Nygaard)
Institutional Investors and Stringent Climate Policies (with Roberto Cardinale)
Greenspace Valuation in Lower-Income Households (with Andi Nygaard)

Selected research activities

Invited panellist: Energy Development and Climate Change, 44h IAEE conference, Riyadh, February 2023
Invited panellist: The Scholar-Professional Connection in Energy Policy, 44h IAEE conference, Riyadh, February 2023
Invited speaker, the Saudi Mental Health program Workshop, 6th ICDR conference, Riyadh, December 2022.
Participant at the Mental Health Economics Workshop, Essen, Germany, July 2022.
Mentee Royal Economic Society (RES) mentoring retreat, March-April, 2022.
Reviewer and committee member at the Joint Research Program, Central Bank of Saudi Arabia
Invited seminar speaker, the Saudi Economic Association, February 2021
Invited seminar speaker, the Department of Accounting and Finance, KFUPM, February 2021
Invited sessional chair, The role of women empowerment in the Saudi economy Workshop, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Economic Association, December 2019
Member of Scientific Committee, Royal Economic Society Symposium of Young Researchers, University of Sussex, March 2018
Ph.D. seminar series organizer, Department of Economics, University of Reading, 2016-2017
Conference presentations, including: 1st IAEE Online Conference (2021): Energy, COVID, and Climate Change, Paris, France; ISEFI 2018-2016, Paris, France; 2nd HAEE Energy (2017), Athens, Greece

Teaching experience

King Saud University, KSA

Energy Economics
Energy Economics (Masters level)
Econometrics

Health Economics (Masters level)
Research Project
Macroeconomic Analysis
Principles of Macroeconomics

University of Reading, UK

Introductory Microeconomics EC113 (co-lecturing)
Empirical Methods for Economics and Social Science EC207 (sessional lecturer)
Economics for Construction and Engineering EC103 (sessional lecturer)

Education

2014 - 2018: Ph.D. University of Reading, UK.
2011-2012: M.Sc. Economic, University of York, UK.

Affiliations

2022-2024: Adjunct researcher, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
March 2019- : Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, King Saud University
April 2019- : Postdoctoral Visiting Fellow, Department of Economics, University of Reading

Career

August 2024- NUAcT Fellow in Economics of Creative Industries, at Newcastle Business School
March 2019- : Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, King Saud University
Autumn 2018: Sessional tutor, Department of Economics, University of Reading
2017-2018: ASK advisor, Department of Economics, University of Reading
Spring 2017: Sessional tutor, Department of Economics, University of Reading
July 2013- August 2014: Economic Advisor, Embassy of Switzerland, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
November 2010 – Jul 2014: Teaching Assistant, Department of Economics, King Saud University