Inside the Middle East: Q&A with Dr. Abbas Al-Mejren

In this installment of “Inside the Middle East: Q&A,” Dr. Abbas Al-Mejren, Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar at the Middle East Initiative and Professor of Economics at Kuwait University, discusses economic development plans in Kuwait and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including poverty alleviation and rationalizing subsidies. Dr. Al-Mejren also gave a public address on November 20, 2014, entitled "Assessing the Policies of Oil Rich States of the Gulf toward Development: Growth vs. Merit".

Watch the interview with Dr. Al-Mejren, conducted by Zane Preston, Associate Editor for the Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy and Master's Candidate in the Tufts University Master of Law and Diplomacy program, here:

About Dr. Al-Mejren:

Dr. Abbas Al-Mejren is the Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar at the Middle East Initiative for fall 2014. He is a professor of economics at the College of Business Administration at Kuwait University. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Exeter, and has a Master of Economics from the University of Oregon. His previous positions at Kuwait University include Head of the Department of Economics and Director of the College's Business Training Programs.

Dr. Al-Mejren is an expert consultant to the Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Kuwait Industrial Bank. He has been an advisor to the Minister of Finance and is a current advisor to the Minister of Commerce and Industry. At the present, he is also an academic advisor for the Kuwait Program at the London School of Economics, and Director of Energy and Environment Studies at the Center for Excellence at Kuwait University’s College of Business Administration. He has participated in many local, regional and global conferences, workshops, and training activities, and contributes regularly to local and Arab media. Dr. Al-Mejren’s research interests include fiscal and monetary policy, strategic planning, and industrial, education and energy economics.