Areas of Interest:

• Financial Risk Management
• Financial Markets
• Banking Regulation and Supervision
• Monetary Policy

Education:

• Ph.D., Economics, The Johns Hopkins University, 1992
• M.B.A., The University of Kansas, 1986
• B.S., The American University of Beirut, 1983

Experience:

• Division Chief for Libya, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF, Apr. 2011-Present
• Head of Unemployment-Growth Nexus Team. Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF, 2010-Present
• Division Chief of Regional Studies, Middle East and Central Asia Department, May 2009-Apr. 2011

Latest Publications:

• “Remittances and Institutions: Are Remittances a Curse?” by Yasser Abdih, Ralph Chami, Jihad Dagher, and Peter Montiel. World Development, Forthcoming.
• “Regional Economic Outlook,” Middle East and Central Asia Department, International Monetary Fund, May 2011.
• “Further Fallout from the Global Financial Crisis, Credit Crunch in the Periphery,” by Adolfo Barajas, Ralph Chami, Raphael Espinosa, and Heiko Hesse. World Economics, Vol. 12, pp.153-176, 2011.