Peer-Reviewed Articles

• “Cartels in public infrastructure procurement – Evidence from Lebanon” with Wassim Maktabi, Governance, 37(4), pp.1321-1347, 2024 [download]; previously in The World Bank Working Paper Series
• “Resource Allocation in Power-Sharing Arrangements – Evidence from Lebanon“ with Sami Atallah and Wassim Maktabi, Third World Quarterly, 44(3), pp. 554-573, 2023 [download]
• “Breaking the Mold? Ministerial rotations, legislative production, and political strategies in Lebanon”, with Sami Zoughaib, Governance, 35(4), pp. 1029-1048, 2022 [download]
• “Policymaking, Ideational Power, and the Role of the Media” with Declan Curran and Robert Gillanders, Political Studies Review, 20(2), pp. 250-264, 2022 [download]
• “Policy divergence across crises of a similar nature: The role of ideas in shaping 19th century famine relief policies” with Declan Curran, Review of International Political Economy, 28(3), pp. 712-738, 2021 [download]
• “Fractionalization and Reform: A Framework of Political Collaboration on Reform with Application to Lebanon” with Declan Curran, Economics of Governance, 21(2), pp. 187-214, 2020 [download]
• “Policymaking in Data Poor Countries – Measuring the Lebanese Political Agenda in a New Data Set” International Development Planning Review, 42(4), pp. 407-430, 2020 [download]
• “Entrepreneurship and Governance in the Arab Region – A review of recent literature to prioritize policy challenges“ with Denise Sumpf, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 25(1), 2020
• “Corruption and support for economic reform in sub-Saharan Africa” with Michael Breen and Robert Gillanders, Economics Bulletin, 39(4), p.A114, 2019 [download]
• “Do Crises Induce Reform? A Critical Survey of Conception, Methodology and Empirical Evidence of the ‘Crisis Hypothesis’“, with Declan Curran, Journal of Economic Surveys, 32(3), pp. 613-648, 2018 [download]
• “Interrogating the ‘Crisis-Reform’ Hypothesis: A case-study of poor law reform in post-famine Ireland” with Declan Curran, Journal of European Economic History, 45(3), pp. 55-82, 2016
• “Balanced Scorecard – About Communication in Cultural Institutions” [German title: “Balanced Scorecard – Über Kommunikation öffentlich getragener Kulturbetriebe”] KM Magazine, 05/2013
• “The Efficiency Rumor – Do US-American Opera Houses work more Efficiently than German Ones?” Arts Management Newsletter, 04/2013

Working Papers

• “Measuring trust in governments using Twitter data – An application to the MENA region“, The World Bank, with Roy van der Weide
• “Crises and informal institutional change”, with Declan Curran
• “Crises, Uncertainty, and Reform – Disentangling the Mechanisms of a Conventional Wisdom in Fractionalized Polities”, ERF Working Paper Series, no1630, presented at the Economic Research Forum (ERF) and the Comparative Agendas Project (CAP) conferences 2021
• “Post-Conflict Power Sharing Arrangements and the Volatility of Social Orders – The Limits of Limited Access Order in Lebanon” with Youssef Chaitani, presented at American Political Science Association conference 2020

Books & Book Chapters

• “Infrastructure Procurement and Elite-Level Collusion in Lebanon” in: „Procurement in Focus: Rules, Discretion, and Emergencies“ eds. Oriana Bandiera, Erica Bosio, and Giancarlo Spagnol, Centre for Economic Policy Research/CEPR Press, 2021
• “Videoconferencing Systems in Business Application” [German Title: “Videokonferenzsysteme im Unternehmenseinsatz”] Shaker Publishing, 07/2013
• “Aspects of Safeguarding the Future of Public Cultural Institutions” [German Title: “Aspekte zur Zukunftssicherung öffentlich getragener Kulturbetriebe”] AV Publishing, 08/2012

Reports & Technical Papers

• „Haiti Rapid Crisis Impact Assessment“, The World Bank et al., 2024
• “Syria Economic Monitor: Conflict, Crises, and the Collapse of Household Welfare“, with Luan Zhao et al, The World Bank, 2024
• “Central African Republic – FCV Portfolio Review and Fragility Assessment“, The World Bank, 2023
• “Syria Earthquake 2023: Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment”, The World Bank, 2023
• “Syria Economic Monitor: Syria’s Economy in Ruins After a Decade-long War”, with The World Bank, 2023
• “Syria Joint Damage Assessment Report”, with The World Bank and United Nations, 2022
• “Performance and Learning Review for Lebanon”, with Mouna Couzi et al., The World Bank, 2022
• “Lebanon Risk and Resilience Assessment”, with Stephan Massing, The World Bank, 2022 [download]
• “Political Economy Analysis Framework for Lebanon”, with Neil McCulloch and William Kingsmill, Lebanon Economic Reform and Infrastructure Investment (LERII) Technical Assistance Facility (TAF), DAI & DFID
• “Arab Governance Report IV” with Youness Abouyoub et al., United Nations ESCWA, 2022
• “Trends and Impacts in Conflict Settings, No. VI – Developing a Risk Assessment Framework for the Arab Region”, with George Willcoxon et al., United Nations ESCWA, 2019
• “Economic Governance for Entrepreneurs in the Arab Region: Prioritizing Policy Challenges”, United Nations ESCWA, with Denise Sumpf, 10/2018  

Policy Briefs & Other Research

• “How the many become a few – The great reduction of Lebanon’s foreign donors”, The Policy Initiative, with Sami Atallah and Sami Zoughaib, 04/2023
• “From Hariri’s Loans to Aoun’s Drought – The History of Lebanon’s Foreign Aid”, The Policy Initiative, with Sami Atallah and Sami Zoughaib, 03/2023
• “How do cartels work? Dealmaking at Lebanon’s Council for Development and Reconstruction”, The Policy Initiative, L’Orient le Jour, with Wassim Maktabi, 09/2022
• “How Transparent Are Lebanon’s Municipalities? Introducing the Institutional Transparency Index“ The Policy Initiative, with Wassim Maktabi, Sami Atallah and Sami Zoughaib, 03/2022
• “What Determines the Transparency of Municipalities? The Effects of Networks and Neighbors“ The Policy Initiative, with Sami Zoughaib, Wassim Maktabi and Sami Atallah, 03/2022
• “Networks and the Transparency of Local Governments – The Effects of Municipal Unions“ The Policy Initiative, with Wassim Maktabi, Sami Zoughaib and Sami Atallah, 03/2022
• “The Effect of Political Affiliations on Municipal Transparency“, The Policy Initiative, with Wassim Maktabi, Sami Atallah and Sami Zoughaib, 03/2022
• “Lebanon’s Independent Electricity Regulator: Avoiding the ‘Political Economy Trap’”, with Ali Ahmad and Jamal Saghir, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, 07/2021
• “The Value of a ‘Seat at the Table’: How Elites Interfere in Lebanon’s Public Infrastructure Procurement”, with Sami Atallah and Wassim Maktabi, International Growth Centre, L’Orient le Jour [in French], and Lebanese Center for Policy Studies
• “Breaking the Mold? Why Ministerial Rotations Cannot Make Up for an Independent Government” with Sami Zoughaib, Economic Research Forum, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, L’Orient le Jour [in French], and An Nahar [in Arabic], 01/2021
• “Restructuring Subnational Governance in Lebanon – Towards Efficient Public Spending and Reduced Regional Inequalities”, Democracy Reporting International & Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, with Sami Atallah, Ziyad Baroud, Mohamad Hussein Mansour, Rose Vennin, 11/2020
• “Lebanon Needs an Independent Cabinet with Legislative Authority” with Ziad Abu-Rish, Sami Atallah, and Wassim Maktabi, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies and Jadaliyya, 08/2020
• “Lebanon Must Learn From the Syrian Disaster”, with Tilman Brück, Economic Research Forum, 06/2020
• “Balancing Access to the State – How Lebanon’s System of Sectarian Governance Became Too Costly to Sustain”, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, 06/2020
• “A Recession Without Impact: Why Lebanese elites delay reform” with Sami Atallah, Economic Research Forum, 10/2019 – also translated into French and published by L’Orient le Jour and by the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies
• “CEDRE Capital Investment Plan: Scrutinizing the Allocation of Projects and Funds Across Regions”, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, with Georgia Dagher and Sami Atallah, 09/2019
• “The CEDRE Reform Program Needs a Credible Action Plan”, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, with Sami Atallah and Georgia Dagher
• “Why Does Lebanon Need CEDRE? How Fiscal Mismanagement and Low Taxation on Wealth Necessitate International Assistance” Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, with Sami Atallah, 10/2018
• “CEDRE Reform Program: Learning from Paris III”, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, with Sami Atallah and Sami Zoughaib, 11/2018
• “Growth Without Development: The Role of Lebanon’s Political Agenda” Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, 10/2018
• “CEDRE Conference: The Need for a Strong Reporting Mechanism” Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, with Sami Atallah and Sami Zoughaib, 10/2018

Op Ed’s

• “In Iraq, mitigating fragility means addressing climate change,” World Bank Blogs, with Ali Ahmad, 04/2023
• “The grand waiting game: why Lebanon’s elites postpone compromise,” Economic Research Forum and L’Orient le Jour (in French), 02/2023
• “When elections don’t matter? How new parliamentarians can improve the politics of power-sharing arrangements” with Sami Atallah, Sami Zoughaib, Wassim Maktabi, Middle East Institute, 07/2022
• “Power sector reforms are new Lebanese governments’ ultimate test” with Ali Ahmad, Paul Noumba Um, and Jamal Saghir, Middle East Institute, 09/2021
• “Hiding Behind Disaster: How International Aid Risks Helping Elites, Not Citizens” with Sami Atallah and Sami Zoughaib, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, and L’Orient le Jour (in French), 09/2020
• “Beirut Blast: The Need to Rebuild the State”, with the LCPS research team, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies and Alternatives Economiques (in French), 08/2020
• “Deposits Made “Sacred”: The Dangerous Red Line of Lebanon’s Elites”, Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy, the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, and Le Commerce du Levant/L’Orient le Jour (in French) 26/04/2020
• “Why a Traditional Austerity Plan Would Exacerbate Lebanon’s Woes”, Harvard Kennedy School’s Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy, Le Commerce du Levant (in French), and the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, 01/2020
• “Tax Exemptions Would Undermine Faith in The New Government’s Pledge to Reform”, Al Akhbar, with Sami Atallah, April 15th/2019
• “How Germany’s Conservatives Threaten Europe’s Future”, Harvard Kennedy School Review, 05/2018