About

I am an Economist, currently working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Innovation in Government & Society, United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). Previously, I worked as an Assistant Professor at the School of Economics, University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM). My research interests include empirically exploring the relationships that exist at the cross-section of Economics, Politics, and other disciplines. In particular, my research agenda is organized around four major themes: (1) exploring the socio-economic and political determinants of international tourism; (2) investigating the impact of international tourism and tourism development on socio-economic outcomes; (3) examining the linkages between energy policy, energy consumption, economic outcomes, and environmental degradation; and (4) understanding the impact of economic outcomes on institutional development, and institutional change. Focusing on these themes has allowed me to conduct policy-relevant research on contemporary and interdisciplinary topics, and contribute to the ongoing policy debates related to improving the overall welfare of society. I have widely published in leading international journals in Tourism and Economics, such as Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, Energy Policy, and Energy Economics. All of my publications to date can be accessed here.

As an Assistant Professor at UAEU, I am teaching two undergraduate courses. As an Assistant Professor at UNM, I taught four undergraduate courses and supervised several undergraduate student dissertations. My current and past teaching experiences are here. In addition, I acted as a Research director at the School of Economics UNM, where I was responsible for managing the research output in the School and promoting collaboration as well as managing Ph.D. education at the School.

Outside of academia, I have collaborated with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi to produce reports on the economic impacts of cultural activities in Abu Dhabi. I have also consulted for PwC Middle East on several projects and worked with World Bank on projects related to infrastructure development and productivity in Malaysia, as well as institutional development in Pakistan. Details of the project can be found here.

I earned my Ph.D. in Economics from the Department of Economics at Lund University, Sweden, in February 2016. My Ph.D. dissertation explored the dynamics of institutional change and the interrelationship between institutions and economic activity. I also have Masters degrees in Economics from Lund University, Sweden, and Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan.

You can either use the contact form to contact me.

You can follow me on Twitter here: @usmank_nek

You can access my research gate profile here and my google scholar profile here.

Last but not least, my Linkedin page is here.