Research

The Department of Economics has a very strong record of research productivity resulting in publications in top-notch academic outlets. Our faculty have a number of specialization areas, some of which are as follows:

Central Banking, Monetary Economics, and Forecasting

Central banking is one of the course policy channels along fiscal policy in any economy. Therefore, it has gathered both academic and practitioners’ interest all over the world. Needless to say, policymakers need accurate and reliable forecasts for the policy recommendation they wish to implement well in advance of the practice stage.

We have a strong cadre of researchers in the department doing both theoretical and empirical research in these fields. They have publications in reputable journals in almost all aspects of theoretical and empirical monetary policy and forecasting.

Labor Market, Migration, and Remittances

One of the main features of the GCC economies is the structure of the labor. These economies are characterized with the notion of the large economies with insufficient indigenous populations. Thus, the amount of remittances flowing out of the region makes it one of the biggest remittance senders in the world. Additionally, the growing local youth population, as well as localization of the labor force, are important issues for policymakers and researchers.

Our researchers have extensive experience in conducting theoretical and empirical research related to many aspects of local and international labor markets and remittances, as evidenced by their research output, consulting services, and international research collaborations.

Economic Development and Political Economy of Conflicts

Development economics examines economic transformation of developing countries with an emphasis on improving the well-being of population – particularly poor people – in terms of standards of living, health, and education. Our faculty include economists who undertake high-quality academic work on various aspects of development.

Our faculty members also engage in inter-disciplinary research on causes and consequences – including economic sources and impacts – of conflicts, and the role of various institutions in preventing, managing, and mitigating the effects of conflicts. Their research output includes publications that significantly contributed to academic and policy debates.

Energy Economics

Faculty members have also been involved in producing high-quality research in energy economics and policy. Their publications in such reputable journals as Energy Economics, Energy Policy, and OPEC Energy Review focus on (i) estimating the (asymmetric) responses of US gasoline demand to changes in various factors including gasoline prices and consumer sentiment; (ii) estimating the price elasticity of demand for gasoline in fuel-subsidizing economies; (iii) using US consumer survey data to forecast the price of crude-oil, gasoline, and heating-oil prices; (iv) investigating the causal relation between electricity consumption and economic growth of OPEC members; and (v) evaluating the predictive accuracy of crude oil futures prices.

Household Behavior and Family Economics

As economics, in general, is about understanding decision-making, one of the most important decision-making nuclei is the household. Our faculty conduct research on a large array of decision-making at the family level, including, but not limited to, inheritances and bequests left to children, care given to parents on behalf of children, domestic violence and divorce, household wealth accumulation, investment in children’s future, to name a few. These issues have profound implications for economic growth, nation's wealth formations, as well as government policies.