CURRENT POSITIONS
Director, London Middle East Institute
Reader in Economics with reference to the Middle East
SOAS, University of London
EDUCATION
1979-87 DPhil – University of Sussex, UK
1977-79 MPhil (Development Studies) – University of Sussex, UK
1974-77 BSc (Econ), Upper Second – London School of Economics, University of London.
1973/74 ‘A’ levels: Pure Maths (A); Applied Maths (B) – Stretford Technical College, Manchester, UK
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
Feb 2010- : Director, London Middle East Institute (LMEI); Reader, Economics Department, SOAS (University of London): Leadership and oversight of LMEI, an interdisciplinary and specialist institute promoting understanding of the Middle East.
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT
2002-10 Senior Lecturer in Economics, Faculty of Finance, Cass Business School, City University London.
2003-07 Associate Dean, Cass Business School – Oversight and leadership of international partnership/off-campus programmes delivering innovative, modular Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) programmes in Shanghai (2003-2007) and Dubai (from September 2007). The former was delivered in partnership with the Bank of China and the latter in association with the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
1995-2002 Senior Lecturer in Economics, SOAS, University of London.
1994-97 Director, The Centre for International Education in Economics (CIEE), SOAS, University of London. An innovative, international distance learning programme with 1100 students in 80 countries offering University of London postgraduate Diplomas and Masters in ‘Financial Economics’, ‘Financial Management’ and ‘Development Finance.’ Winner of the Queen’s Prize for Higher and Further Education, 1996.
1993-95 Lecturer in Economics, SOAS, University of London.
1989-93 Lecturer in Agricultural Development, Wye College External Program (University of London): Academic Director of an innovative, international distance learning programme offering University of London postgraduate Diplomas and Masters in Agricultural Economics and Development.
1987-89 Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Economics, North Staffordshire Polytechnic.
1982-87 Visiting Lecturer in Economics, Business Management Department, Brighton University.
LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
2010- SOAS:
– Director, London Middle East Institute.
2002-2008 Cass Business School:
– Associate Dean
– Member of Management Committee
– Member of various committees: Board of Studies; Teaching & Learning Committee: Academic Practice, Programmes & Standards Committee (APPSC); Chair of City University’s Internationalisation Strategy Sub-Group.
1993-2002 SOAS:
– Director, Centre for International Education in Economics (1994-1997).
– Member of the Interim Board of Trustees, The London Middle East Institute at SOAS (2001-02).
– Member of Education Policy Committee (1994-97) and Academic Board (1997-2002).
1989-93 Wye College:
– Academic Director, Wye External Programme.
– Member of the External Programme Policy Group.
RESEARCH AREAS & FIELDS OF INTEREST
Economic development and growth in the MENA region with special reference to Iran, UAE and Saudi Arabia
Inclusive growth in the MENA region
Human resources and labour markets in the Middle East
Population policy and demographic transition (including migration and labour transfer)
Education (including distance learning, e-Learning and continuing education)
TEACHING: FIELDS & SUBJECTS
Economic Development of the Modern Middle East (SOAS)
Investment & Project Appraisal (SOAS)
Intermediate and Introductory Macro and Microeconomics (Staffordshire, Wye, SOAS and Cass)
Development Economics (SOAS and Staffordshire)
MBA Business Economics (Cass)
COURSE DIRECTORSHIPS
2002- 08: Executive MBA (China and Dubai): Cass
1998-2002: Graduate Diploma in Economics: SOAS
1994-97: MSc Financial Economics & Financial Management: SOAS
1989-92: MSc and Postgraduate Diploma, Agricultural Development: Wye College.
TEACHING: INNOVATION & PEDAGOGIC CONTRIBUTION
Innovation:
– Middle East Summer School, SOAS, 2013
– Pioneered E-learning at Cass in 2003 with the introduction of a customised Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called CassLearn
– a first modular programme design for Cass (for Executives)
– a first programme in the Middle East market (Dubai)
– a first programme delivered overseas (China)
– a pioneering EMBA with specialism in Islamic Finance
– Winner of the City University Teaching Award for ‘Innovation’, May 2005.
Applied pedagogy and educational technology
– Recognised expertise in distance education with a focus on international delivery (Wye College: 1989-2002, SOAS: 1993-1997 and Cass: 2002-08)
– Design and use of specially designed learning materials and appropriate support infrastructure to support the students’ learning experience from a distance
– Strong grasp of applied pedagogy and use of appropriate educational technology to support learning inside and outside the classroom.
International and cross cultural experience:
– Extensive experience of international collaborative provision
– A strong perspective on the internationalisation of higher education
– Track record of outreach strategy to an ever more culturally diverse set of student body (see list of international programmes below).
Quality assurance and standards:
– First-hand experience of dealing with external institutions such as accreditation bodies and quality agencies (QAA, AMBA)
– Member of Teaching and Learning Committee, and Academic Practice, Programmes & Standards Committee (Cass).
OPEN/DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES AND TRAINING MATERIALS
Extensive writing, editing, designing, developing and delivering specialist distance learning, teaching and training materials. Courses written or co-authored:
Business Economics (co-authored with Roy Batchelor, Cass Business School)
Investment & Project Appraisal (SOAS; co-authored with Erhun Kula, University of Ulster)
Development Finance (SOAS)
Development Economics (SOAS)
Gender & Agrarian Change (Wye College)
Trainers’ Guide (2 volumes, FAO, Rome; see publications)
INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANCIES
2014/15: African Development Bank (AfDB) – External consultant: commissioned to write ‘Measuring Inclusive Growth from Theory to Applications in North Africa’
2012/13: African Development Bank (AfDB) – External consultant: commissioned to write ‘In Search of Inclusive Growth in North Africa’
2009: World Bank – Commissioned to write ‘A Comparative Study of the Employment Dynamics and Job Creation in Iran’s Free Trade Zones: Evidence from an Employers’ Survey, the Social and Economic Development Group (MNSED), Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank, Washington DC.
2008: World Bank – Commissioned to write ‘Iran’s Free Trade Zones: Challenges & Opportunities’, the Social and Economic Development Group (MNSED), Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank, Washington DC.
2007-08: World Bank – Commissioned to write a Case Study of Iran’s Economic Development as part of ‘Country Case Studies’ for The Commission on Growth and Development (chaired by the Nobel Laureate, Professor Mike Spence of Stanford Business School).
2007: International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva – Commissioned to write ‘Labour Market Dynamics and Employment Policy in Saudi Arabia’.
2006: World Bank – Commissioned to write a background paper on ‘Institutional Change and Economic Performance in Iran’; the Social and Economic Development Group (MNSED), Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank, Washington DC.
February 2000 and February 2001: Seminars on Project & Investment Analysis, Ministry of Economics & Co-operation (MEDaC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
August 1997: Economic Research Division, Union Bank of Switzerland, Zurich, Switzerland.
1990-92: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO), Training Service, Policy Analysis Division, Rome, commissioned to write and develop Guide and Manual for ‘Training Trainers in Agricultural Development.’ Held workshop in Rome, Training Service, December1992.
1989-93: Academic co-ordinator, capacity building programme in the University of Sindh, southern Pakistan: an ODA-funded 5-year project with Wye College involving training in rural development, agricultural economics, policy analysis and project appraisal.
PUBLICATIONS & ACADEMIC WORK
Articles
‘What is the Political Impact of High Youth Unemployment?’ BBC History Magazine, October 2016 (forthcoming)
'Kicking Away the Migration Ladder?' The Middle East in London, Vol. 12, No. 4, June-July 2016, pp. 13-14.
'GCC Economic Integration: Fiction or Reality?' Khamsoon (2015 with Abdulla Abdulaal), pp. 1-8.
‘Jobs for the young? The GCC Employment Policy Dilemmas,’ with Abdulla Abdulaal, Middle East in London, Vol. 10, No. 5, Oct-Nov 2014, pp. 7-8.
‘Iran’s Free Trade Zones: Back Doors to the International Economy?’ Iranian Studies, Vol. 44, No. 6, November 2011, pp. 851-74.
‘The Economic Prospects of the “Arab Spring”: A Bumpy Road Ahead’, CDPR Development ViewPoint, no 63, June 2011, pp. 1-2.
‘From Demographic Transition to Fertility Boom and Bust: Iran in the 1980s and 1990s,’ Development & Change, Vol. 37, No. 3, May 2006, pp. 571-97.
‘Oil, Economic Diversification and the Democratic Process in Iran’, joint paper with M Karshenas, Iranian Studies, Vol. 38, No. 1, March 2005, pp. 67-90.
‘Water Scarcity and Food Imports: An Empirical Investigation of the “Virtual Water” Hypothesis in the MENA Region,’ Review of Middle East Economics and Finance Vol. 1, No. 1, April 2003, pp. 71-85.
‘The Impact of the 1970s’ Oil Boom on Iranian Agriculture,’ Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2, January 1988.
‘Industrialization and the Standard of Living in Iran, 1960-79’ Development & Change, Vol. 19, 1988.
‘Wage Labour and Migration: Persian Workers in Southern Russia, 1880-1914,’ The International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 17, No. 4, November 1985.
‘Dependency and Industrialisation: An Iranian Point of View,’ IDS Bulletin, Dec. 1980.
Books
Iran in the Global Economy: The Economics of Populism and Reform (co-edited with Parvin Alizadeh), London: Routledge (Dec 2013); ISBN: 978-0-415-50554-3 (hbk); 978-1-315-86720-5 (ebk).
Trade Policy and Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa: Economic Boundaries in Flux (co-edited with Jeffrey B Nugent), London: Routledge-Curzon, 2004; ISBN: 0415360293
The State and Global Change: The Political Economy of Transition in the Middle East & North Africa, co-edited with Z. Moshaver, London: Curzon Press, January 2001; ISBN: 0-7007-1366-2.
Labour Transfer and Economic Development: Case Studies from Iran, Harvester Wheatsheaf: Hemel Hempstead (UK) and Lynne Rienner: Boulder, CO, USA, 1990. ISBN: 0-7450-0554-3.
Other Publications
‘Measuring Inclusive Growth: from Theory to Applications in North Africa’, Economic Brief, African Development Bank (AfDB), Tunis (2016 - forthcoming).
Book review:
Understanding the Political Economy of the Arab Uprisings, Edited by Ishac Diwan, World Scientific, July 2014, in Middle East in London, Vol. 11, No. 2, Feb-March 2015.
Hakimian, Hassan and Said, Mona and Karshenas, Masood and Alami, Randa (2014) ‘Inclusive Growth in MENA: Employment and Poverty Dimensions in a Comparative Context’, Marseille: FEMISE.
'Institutional Change, Policy Challenges and Macroeconomic Performance: 1979-2004' in: Alizadeh and Hakimian (2014, eds) Iran and the Global Economy: Petro Populism, Islam and Economic Sanctions. London: Routledge, pp. 46-75.
‘The Search for “Inclusive Growth” in North Africa: A Comparative Approach’, Economic Brief, African Development Bank (AfDB), Tunis (2013).
‘Iran’s Free Trade Zones: Challenges & Opportunities’, commissioned by the Social and Economic Development Group (MNSED), Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank, Washington DC (2009).
‘Institutional Change, Policy Challenges and Macroeconomic Performance: Case Study of Iran (1979-2004)’, Commission on Growth & Development (2008), Working Paper No 26; World Bank, Washington DC. Available from: http://www.growthcommission.org/storage/cgdev/documents/gcwp026web.pdf
‘Labour Market Dynamics and Employment Policy in Saudi Arabia’, Working Paper, 2007, The International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva.
‘Managing Oil Resources and Economic Diversification in Iran,’ joint paper with M Karshenas in Katouzian, Homa and Hossein Shahidi (Eds, 2007), Iran in the 21st Century: Politics, Economics and Confrontation, Routledge.
‘Irán: La economía después de la revolución’, Vanguardia – dossier, No. 24. julio/septiembre 2007, pp. 70-76.
‘Institutional Change, Policy Challenges and Macroeconomic Performance in Iran: 1979-2004’, background paper commissioned by the World Bank, the Social and Economic Development Group (MNSED), Middle East and North Africa Region, mimeo, June 2006, Washington DC.
‘The Domestic Context of Managing the Oil Wealth’, Oxford Energy Forum, No. 64, 2006, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, pp. 5-7.
‘Industrialization – The Mohammad Reza Shah Period, 1953-79’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by E Yarshater, Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, California, USA, 2005 (with Massoud Karshenas), ISBN 0-933273-86-X, pp. 110-19.
‘Industrialization – The Reza Shah Period and its Aftermath, 1925-53’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by E Yarshater, Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, California, USA, 2004, ISBN: 0-933273-84-3, pp. 105-10.
‘A Bridge Too Far?: The Use of E-Learning in Design and Development of Business Education in China’, International Conference on the Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning, Proceedings 2004 (eds: Joelle Fanghanel and Digby Warren), City University, pp.127-35.
‘The Economy and Foreign Investment in Iran’ commissioned by The Japanese Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (JIME), mimeo, April 2003.
‘From MENA to East Asia and Back: Lessons of Globalisation, Crisis and Economic Reform’, Ch. 4 in Hakimian and Moshaver (eds, 2001), The State and Global Change.
‘From Demographic Transition to Population Boom and Bust: The Experience of Iran in the 1980s and 1990s’, Working Paper, No 200109, September 2001; Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey (ERF), Cairo.
‘Population Dynamics in Post-Revolutionary Iran: A Re-examination of Evidence’, in P. Alizadeh (ed., 2000), Iran’s Economy: Dilemmas of an Islamic State. London: I.B. Tauris, (2000).
‘Dilemmas and Prospects for Economic Reform and Reconstruction in Iran’ in P. Alizadeh (ed., 2000), Iran’s Economy: Dilemmas of an Islamic State. London: I.B. Tauris, (2000).
‘Institutional Change and Macroeconomic Performance in Iran Two Decades after the Revolution (1979-1999)’ Working Paper, No 9909, April 1999; Economic Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey (ERF), Cairo.
‘Iranian Economy – The Qajar Period’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by E Yarshater, Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, California, 1997, Volume VIII, Fascicle 2, ISBN 1-56859-051-2, pp. 138-43.
‘Diaspora - Persians in Caucasus and Central Asia in late 19th and early 20th Centuries,’ Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by E Yarshater, Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, California, USA, 1995, Volume VII, Fascicle 4, ISBN 1-56859-022-9, pp. 375-77.
‘Cotton - Production and Trade in Iran,’ Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by E Yarshater, Vol. VI, Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, California, USA, 1993, Volume VI, Fascicles 3&4, ISBN 1-56859-001-6 and 1-56859-002-4, pp. 333-38.
‘Trainers’ Guide: Concepts, Principles, and Methods of Training with Special Reference to Agricultural Development’, ESPT Training Materials, no 33, Training Service, Policy Analysis Division, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, 1993. This work has since been translated into French by the UN (see below).
‘New Perspectives on International Training: Third World Agriculture and The Wye External Programme’, co-authored with J E Bryson, in G Rumble and J Oliveira (eds), Vocational Education at a Distance - International Perspectives, International Labour Office and Kogan Page, London, 1992.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Cambridge Series in Rural and Agricultural Development, Cambridge University Press (1989-93).
Associate Editor: Review of Middle East Economics and Finance (1997-present).
Series Editor ‘Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa’. I launched the Series in 2003 for Routledge (part of the Taylor & Francis publishers). To date the Series includes the following titles:
http://www.routledgementalhealth.com/books/series/SE0387/
1. Trade Policy and Economic Integration in the Middle East and North Africa: Economic Boundaries in Flux, edited by Hassan Hakimian (City University, UK) and Jeffrey B. Nugent (University of Southern California, USA).
2. State Formation in Palestine: Viability and Governance during a Social Transformation, edited by Mushtaq Husain Khan (SOAS, London) with George Giacaman (Muwatin, Palestine) and Inge Amundsen (Christen Michelsen Institute, Norway).
3. Labour Migration and the Palestinian State: The Political Economy of Palestinian Labour Flows to Israel, 1967-2003, Leila Farsakh (MIT, USA).
4. Islam and The Everyday World: Public Policy Dilemmas, edited by Sohrab Behdad (Denison University, USA) and Farhad Nomani (American University of Paris).
5. Monetary Policy and Central Banking in MENA, edited by David Cobham (Heriot-Watt University) and Ghassan Dibeh (Lebanese American University).
6. Economic Performance in the Middle East and North Africa: Institutions, Corruption and Reform edited by Serdar Sayan (TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Turkey).
7. Economic Liberalization and Turkey, Subidey Togan (Bilkent University, Turkey).
8. The Political Economy of Aid in Palestine: Relief from Conflict or Development Delayed?, Sahar Rad (UNCTAD, Geneva).
9. Money in the Middle East and North Africa: Monetary Policy Frameworks and Strategies edited by David Cobham (Heriot-Watt University) and Ghassan Dibeh (Lebanese American University).
10. Iran’s Struggle for Economic Independence: Reform and Counter Reform in the Post- Revolutionary Era, Evaleila Pesarn (Cambridge University).
11. Economic and Trade Policies in the Arab World: Employment, Poverty Reduction and Integration, edited by Mahmoud Elkhafif, Sahar Taghdisi-Rad and Mutasim Elagraa (UNCTAD, Geneva).
12. Iran and the Global Economy: Petro Populism, Islam and Economic Sanctions; edited by Parvin Alizadeh (Boston University, London Programme) and Hassan Hakimian (SOAS).
13. State–Business Alliances and Economic Development: Turkey, Mexico and North Africa; Işık Özel (Sabanci University, Turkey).
WORK TRANSLATED INTO OTHER LANGUAGES
Translated into Japanese: ‘The Economy and Foreign Investment in Iran’ commissioned by The Japanese Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (JIME), mimeo, April 2003.
Translated into Persian: Hakimian and Moshaver (eds, 2001), The State and Global Change.
Translated into French and Spanish: ‘Trainers’ Guide: Concepts, Principles, and Methods of Training with Special Reference to Agricultural Development’, ESPT Training Materials, no 33, Training Service, Policy Analysis Division, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, 1993.
AWARDS
Association FEMISE, Marseille, Research Award “Inclusive Growth in MENA: Employment and Poverty Dimensions in a Comparative Context” in collaboration with the American University in Cairo (AUC), 2012-14.
City University, Teaching Award for ‘Innovation’, May 2005.
The Queen’s Prize for Higher and Further Education, 1996 (as Director of the Centre for International Education in Economics, SOAS, University of London).
The Queen’s Prize for Higher and Further Education, 1994 (as Senior Academic of the External Programme, Wye College, University of London).
Scholarship from the Iranian Ministry of Finance, 1973-81 (I was one of a group of 11 selected from all over Iran to study in the UK).
