Zakaria Boulanouar
Associate Professor of Finance, United Arab Emirates University
Zakaria Boulanouar is Associate Professor of Finance at United Arab Emirates University and a Research Affiliate at UAEU's National Water and Energy Center. He holds a PhD in Finance from the University of Waikato and an MA in Economics from Hiroshima University. His research examines energy-transition and climate finance, development and SME finance, Islamic banking and finance, and financial technology. His work has appeared in the Journal of Cleaner Production, Finance Research Letters, International Review of Economics & Finance, Research in International Business and Finance, Transport Policy, Resources Policy, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, and other peer-reviewed journals. He leads funded research on energy transition, sustainable development, financial inclusion, and banking. He is an Editor of PLOS ONE and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research connects rigorous empirical analysis with policy-relevant questions affecting emerging economies and the MENA region.
Areas of Interest:
- Energy-transition, climate and sustainable finance
- Development finance, Entrepreneurial and SME finance
- Islamic banking and finance
- Financial technology and digital finance
Education:
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, FHEA, 2022
- CFA Investment Foundations Certificate, CFA Institute, 2019
- PhD in Finance, University of Waikato, New Zealand, 2013
- MA in Economics, Hiroshima University, Japan, 2003
Experience:
- Associate Professor of Finance, Department of Economics and Finance, College of Business and Economics, United Arab Emirates University, September 2025 – Present
- Research Affiliate, National Water and Energy Center, United Arab Emirates University, April 2023 – Present
- Visiting Faculty of Islamic Finance, The Education University of Hong Kong, December 2025
- Assistant Professor of Finance, United Arab Emirates University, August 2022 – July 2025
- Assistant Professor of Finance, Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE, March 2019–July 2022
- Lead Professional Trainer and Program Coordinator, International Malaysian Training Centre (IMTC), Dubai, UAE, June 2022 - Present
Latest Publications:
- Anwer, Z., Boulanouar, Z., Farid, S., & Akhtar, A. (2026). Dynamic connectedness among global technology-linked financial assets: Portfolio implications. Research in International Business and Finance, 89, 103461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2026.103461
- Hua, L., Boulanouar, Z., Bilal, A., & Ullah, S. (2026). Dynamic linkages between circular economy, green technologies, and energy transition under geopolitical shocks: Evidence from wavelet and non-parametric causality approaches. The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, 33, e00441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeca.2025.e00441
- Boulanouar, Z., Essid, L., & Sami, S. (2025). Energy Transition Investments and Carbon Emissions: Asymmetric and Dynamic Effects across Developed and Emerging Economies. Finance Research Letters, Volume 83, 107746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107746
