Hadi Salehi Esfahani
Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Illinois
Hadi Salehi Esfahani is a Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he served as the Director of the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies during 2009-2011 and 2017-2020. He also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, during 2006-2022. He is a founding member and Research Fellow of the Economic Research Forum (ERF), where he served as a member of Board of Trustees and Advisory Committee of ERF. He has been a member of Middle East Economic Association, and has served at its Executive Secretary, 2004-2006, and President, January 2007-2009. He has worked for the World Bank as a policy research economist and as a consultant. He has received his B.Sc. in engineering from Tehran University and Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. His theoretical and empirical research is in the field of political economy of development, focusing in particular on the Middle East and North Africa region. He has published numerous articles on the role of politics and governance in fiscal, trade, labor, and regulatory policy formation.
Areas of Interest:
- Political economy of development
- The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of fiscal, trade, and regulatory policies
Education:
- Ph.D., Economics, University of California, Berkeley, USA, 1984
- M.A., Economics, University of California, Berkeley, USA, 1982
- B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering, Tehran University, Iran, 1977
Experience:
- Director, Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Present
- Professor of Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003-present
- Director of Global Studies Initiative, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005
- Associate Professor of Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1990-2003
Latest Publications:
- Lee, S., & Esfahani, H. S. (2020). The effect of fiscal system reform on fiscal policy outcomes. Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 67(2), 186-200. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjpe.12230
- Cinar, M., Esfahani, H. S., & Nugent, J. B. (2019). An introduction to the special issue of the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance on the economies of Middle East and North Africa. Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 73, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qref.2019.08.003
- Bahramitash, R., & Esfahani, H. S. (2016). Introduction. In R. Bahramitash, & H. S. Esfahani (Eds.), Political and Socio-Economic Change in the Middle East and North Africa (pp. 1-20). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137481429_1
Dust Storms and House Prices
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
March, 2025
Conference PaperSize-Dependent Industrial Policies and Firm Performance: The Case of Iran’s Credit Extension Policy for Small Firms, 2005-2013
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
September, 2020
ERF 26th Annual ConferenceGender and Labor Allocation: The Role of Institutions and Policies in the Allocation of Female and Male Labor
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
May, 2016
Working PapersGender, Enterprise Ownership, and Labor Allocation in MENA: The Roles of Islam, Oil, and Government Policies
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
September, 2015
Working PapersThe Distributional Consequences of Economic Growth and Public Spending Programs in Iran
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
December, 2014
Working PapersSocial Protection, Gender, and the Consumption Patterns of the Poor: The Role of NGOs in Poverty Reduction in Iran
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
2015-01-01
Social Protection and Gender in Iran: Assessing the Differential Impact of Social Protection Activities on Female-Headed versus Male-Headed Households
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
2015-01-01
Gender, Enterprise Ownership, and Labor Allocation in MENA
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
2015-01-01
Labor Market Institutions, Employment and Gender in MENA Countries
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
2014-01-01
What Drove Changes in Political Settlements in Iran and Turkey?
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
2013-01-01
ERF 31st Annual Conference: Parallel Sessions
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
Apr 27, 2025
Seminar on: A New State of Mind: The Learning State
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
Jan 12, 2023
ERF 26th Annual Conference: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a Framework for MENA’s Development Policy
Areas of Interest: Political economy of development The role of country institutions in the formation and reform of... Read More
Jun 23, 2020