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Hossein Askari

Hossein Askari

Hossein Askari

Iran Professor Emeritus of International Business and International Affairs

Contact:

Office Phone: (202) 994-0847
Professional Website
2201 G Street NW, Suite 405 Washington, D.C. 20052

Hossein Askari was born in Iran and received his elementary and secondary education in the United Kingdom. He then came to the United States where he earned his BS in civil engineering, attended the Sloan School of Management and received his PhD in economics, all at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was an instructor at MIT, and started his academic career at the age of twenty-three as an assistant professor of economics at Tufts University, becoming an associate professor at Wayne State University, and professor of international business and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas at Austin in 1978, before coming to the George Washington University (GW) in 1982, where he has served as chairman of the International Business Department and as director of the Institute of Global Management and Research and is now the Iran Professor Emeritus of International Business and International Affairs.

He served for two and a half years on the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund and was special advisor to the Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia; in this capacity he frequently spoke for Saudi Arabia at the IMF executive board; he developed the idea for a special quota increase for Saudi Arabia, giving Saudi Arabia an effective permanent seat on the board; and he assisted in the negotiations of a $10 billion loan to the IMF. During the mid-1980s he directed an international team that developed the first comprehensive domestic, regional and international energy models and plan for Saudi Arabia. During 1990-1991 he was asked by the governments of Iran and Saudi Arabia to act as an intermediary to restore diplomatic relations; and in 1992 he was asked by the Emir of Kuwait to mediate with Iran.

Hossein Askari has written extensively on economic development in the Middle East, Islamic economics and finance, international trade and finance, agricultural economics, oil economics and on economic sanctions, including twenty-nine books, over one hundred refereed journal articles and a number of chapters in books and numerous magazine web-based articles.

He has written over two hundred opinion pieces in the NYT, WP, LAT, IHT, Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Tribune, US New and World Report, ForeignPolicy, the National Interest Online, Asia Times Online, Huffington Postand in other newspapers and websites. He has advised ministers of finance,heads of central banks, oil ministers and other officials in the Persian Gulfon economic development policy, oil policy, and on international trade andfinance. In the past, he has been a consultant to a number of institutions andcorporations, including: the OECD, the World Bank, the IFC, the APDF, the IFU,the United Nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Ministry of Finance ofSaudi Arabia, the Ministry of Planning of Saudi Arabia, the Royal Commissionfor Jubail and Yanbu, Islamic Development Bank, the Overseas Private InsuranceCorporation (OPIC), the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), Bechtel, FirstNational Bank of Chicago, Eastman (Kodak) Chemical, Litton Industries, HydrilCompany, Northwest Industries, Sunoco and ARCO International.

His courses at GW are focused on The Global Economy, Economic, Human andPolitical Development in the Middle East, Islam and Development, Islamic Economicsand Finance, Conflicts in the Persian Gulf, and Reformation and InstitutionBuilding in Muslim Countries.

  • International Trade and Finance
  • Economic Development in the Middle East
  • Oil Economics
  • Islamic Economics
  • Economic Sanctions
  • Economic Development in The Persian Gulf
  • Conflicts In the Persian Gulf
  • Oil Economics
  • Islamic Economics and Finance
  • Economic Justice
  • Economic Sanctions

Ph.D., Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1970
B.S., Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1966

  • Askari,Hossein, Resource Rich Countries and Islamic Institutional Reforms, Foreword by Latifah Merican Cheong, with Liza Mydin and Abbas Mirakhor, New York: Peter Lang Inc., 2017.

  • Askari, Hossein, Ideal Islamic Economy: An Introduction, Foreword by Ali Allawi, with Abbas Mirakhor, NewYork: Palgrave Macmillan, July 2017.

  • Askari, Hossein, Reformation and Development in the Muslim World: Islamicity Indices as Benchmark, with Hossein Mohammadkhan and Liza Mydin, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, June 2017.

  • Askari, Hossein, The Next Financial Crisis and How to Save Capitalism, Foreword by Vittorio Corbo, with Abbas Mirakhor, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

  • Askari, Hossein, Islamicity Indices: The Seed For Change, Foreword by Abbas Mirakhor, with Hossein Mohammadkhan, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

  • Askari, Hossein, Challenges in Economic and Financial Policy Formulation: An Islamic Perspective, with Zamir Iqbal and Abbas Mirakhor, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

  • Askari, Hossein, Introduction to Islamic Economics: Theory and Application, with Zamir Iqbal and Abbas Mirakhor, Singapore: John Wiley and Sons, 2014.

  • Askari, Hossein, Conflicts in the Persian Gulf: Origins and Evolution, Foreword by Ahmad Ghoreishi, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

  • Askari, Hossein, Collaborative Colonialism: The Political Economy of Oil in the Persian Gulf, Foreword by Robert E. Looney, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

  • Askari, Hossein, Conflicts and Wars: Their Fallout and Prevention, Foreword by George A. Akerlof, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, July 2012.

  • Askari, Hossein, Risk Sharing in Finance: The Islamic Finance Alternative, with Z. Iqbal, N. Krichene and A. Mirakhor, Singapore: John Wiley and Sons, 2011.

  • Askari, Hossein, Islam and the Path to Human and Economic Development, Foreword by Ali Allawi, with A. Mirakhor, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

  • Askari, Hossein, The Stability of Islamic Finance: Creating a Resilient Financial Environment for a Secure Future, Foreword by Sir Andrew Crockett, with Z. Iqbal, N. Krichene and A. Mirakhor, Singapore: John Wiley and Sons, January 2010.

  • Askari, Hossein, “Monetary Policy and World Commodity Markets: 2000-2007,” with Noureddine Krichene, PSL Quarterly Review, Volume 63, Number 253, Issue 2, July 2010.

  • Askari, Hossein, “An Oil Demand and Supply Model Incorporating Monetary Policy,” with Noureddine Krichene, Energy, Volume 35, Issue 5, May 2010.

  • Askari, Hossein, “The Impact of Monetary Policy on Oil Process Parameters and Market Expectations,” with Noureddine Krichene, Global Finance Journal, Volume 21, Issue 2, August 2010.

  • Askari, Hossein, “Crude Oil Price Dynamics (2002-2006),” with Noureddine Krichene, Energy Economics, Volume 30, Issue 5, September 2008.

  • Askari, Hossein, The Middle East Oil Exporters: What Happened to Economic Development? Foreword by Robert M. Solow, Northampton, US: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007.

  • The Gold Standard Anchored in Islamic Finance, Palgrave Macmillan, December 2014.

  • “Understanding Development in an Islamic Framework,” with Zamir Iqbal, Noureddine Krichene and Abbas Mirakhor, Islamic Economic Studies, Volume 22, Number 1, May 2014.

  • “Islamic Finance: An Alternative Financial System for Stability, Equity, and Growth,” with Noureddine Krichene, PSL Quarterly Review, Volume 67, Number 268, March 2014.

  • “On the Stability of an Islamic Financial System,” with Noureddine Krichene and Abbas Mirakhor, PSL Quarterly Review, Volume 67, Number 269, June 2014.

  • “A Gold Standard International Payments System Anchored in Islamic Finance,” with Noureddine Krichene ISRA International Journal of Islamic Finance, June 2014.

  • “Risk Sharing, Public Policy and the Contribution of Islamic Finance,” with Abbas Mirakhor, PSL Quarterly Review, Volume 67, Number 271, December 2014.

  • “Severe Financial Crises and Fundamental Reforms: the Benefits of Risk Sharing,” Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, Volume 28, Number 1, January 2015.

  • “Risk Sharing in Corporate and Public Finance: The Contribution of Islamic Finance, “ with Obiyathulla Ismath Bacha and Abbas Mirakhor, PSL Quarterly Review, Volume 68, Number 274, September 2015.

  • “Benchmarking Objectives of Shari’ah (Islamic Law): Index and its Performance in Select OIC Countries,” with Alaa Alaabad, Zamir Iqbal and Adam Ng, International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, January/February 2016.

  • “100% Reserve Banking and the Path to Single-Country Gold Standard,” with Noureddine Krichene, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Volume 19, Number 1, April 2016.

  • “Culture, Income, and CO2 Emission,” with Mustafa Disli and Adam Ng, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 62, September 2016.

  • “Radical Uncertainty, Non-predictability, Antifragility and Risk-Sharing Islamic Finance,” with Umar Rafi and Abbas Mirakhor, PSL Quarterly Review, Volume 69, Number 279, December 2016

  • “The Stability of Islamic Finance and Financial Risk Management,” in State of Islamic Finance: A Retrospective Assessment and Looking Forward, Zamir Iqbal and Zurina Shafii (eds.), Malaysia: Penerbit Publications, May 2015.

  • “Distributive Justice: An Islamic Perspective,” in Islamic Finance, Zamir Iqbal (ed.), World Bank, 2016