AUB

Founded in 1866, the American University of Beirut bases its educational philosophy, standards, and practices on the American liberal arts model of higher education. A teaching-centered research university, AUB has around 700 instructional faculty and a student body of around 8,000 students. The University encourages freedom of thought and expression and seeks to graduate men and women committed to creative and critical thinking, life-long learning, personal integrity, civic responsibility, and leadership.

The American University of Beirut (AUB) was founded in 1866 as a private, independent, non-sectarian institution of higher learning. The University is registered with the Lebanese government, Ministry of Education and Higher Learning and its degrees are recognised and accredited by the government of Lebanon.

The Research Team

Jad Chaaban
Jad Chaaban
Jad Chaaban is an Associate Professor of Economics at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Dr Chaaban holds a B.A. in Economics from AUB, an M.B.A. from the European School of Management (2000), a master’s in Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resources Economics (2001), and a Ph.D. in Economics (2004) from the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) in France. Dr Chaaban’s primary research interests are in agricultural economics, development economics, and industrial organization; and his extended interests include public economics of health, education, and labour policies, in addition to environmental economics and population studies. His work focuses mostly on using tools in micro and applied economics to tackle public policy issues that affect the lives of the most vulnerable groups in society. His interdisciplinary work has been published in several academic journals in disciplines including Economics, Area Studies, Demography, Agricultural Policy, and Public Health.
Ali Chalak
Ali Chalak
Ali Chalak has been an Assistant Professor of Applied Economics since 2009 at the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He has more than 12 years of research and consulting experience in economic and policy analysis. Dr Chalak has earned his B.Sc. degree in Agriculture from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 2000, and completed his M.Sc. in Tropical Agricultural Development, option in Crop Protection, from the University of Reading, UK, in 2001. He then went on to complete a Ph.D. in Applied Economics at Imperial College London, Wye Campus, UK, in 2008. Between 2006 and 2009, Dr Chalak worked as a consultant in the UK water sector, before joining AUB. His research currently focuses on alcohol control and harm reduction policy in Lebanon; commuters’ and motorists’ behaviour, modes of transport, and greenhouse gas emissions; adoption of conservation agriculture among farmers in Lebanon and the MENA; consumer demand for food products with safety or environmental labels and certificates; and customers’ willingness-to-pay for water and wastewater service improvements. Dr Chalak’s consulting and research have yielded several publications in peer-reviewed journals.