Economic Rockstar - 033: Abdullah Al-Bahrani on the Economy of Oman and How Racial Discrimination Empowered Him to Succeed in Life and in Economics.

033: Abdullah Al-Bahrani on the Economy of Oman and How Racial Discrimination Empowered Him to Succeed in Life and in Economics.

05/21/15 • 48 min

Dr. Abdullah Al Bahrani is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Northern Kentucky University, where he serves as the Principles of Economics Coordinator.

Abdullah’s research interests are in the fields of Industrial Organization and Education of Economics. Currently, his primary focus is on innovative approaches to teaching Economics. In Industrial Organization, his research examines market structure and competition in the banking and real estate industries.

Prior to joining academia, Dr. Al Bahrani worked in the mortgage industry from 2003-2006. He has also served as outside economic consult to the Ministry of Education, Sultanate of Oman and new business ventures entering Oman.

Abdullah received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Kentucky in 2010, where he received an award for Best Economics Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Find Out:

why Abdullah decided to do a Phd in Economics in 2006 and left the mortgage industry just before it imploded.
about Abdullah’s economic consultancy work with the Sultanate of Oman.
about Abdullah’s connection when reviewing labor market studies in Oman (Hint: She is the Director General of the National Centre of Career Guidance and is as maternal to Abdullah as Oman is to him).
how Oman are creating an entrepreneurial spirit to drive is economy in the future.
why Oman is faced with difficulties in transitioning to an entrepreneurial economy.
how Omani culture is preventing it’s people to take on risk and why incentives do not work.
about Abdullah’s suggestion that to create an entrepreneurial spirit in Oman, the labor market must first be liberalised.
why discrimination exists in the Omani labor market and why US and UK ex-pats would be a preferred employee.
how data limitations for Oman make it difficult to conduct an empirical analysis of the labor market.
about Oman’s tourism initiative to create Oman as an eco-friendly destination.
how Abdullah is integrating social media into the classroom, making education a more interactive and conducive learning environment for students.
how to create a sense of community in a classroom.
why Abdullah received an Easter basket of goodies from a student’s mother.
why Abdullah is ‘helping his students to ‘clean’ their social media footprint.
about the research Abdullah is doing on racial discrimination in the labor market.
how Abdullah is identifying how racial discrimination is evident in online markets where, unlike traditional markets, the color of your skin is not a factor.
how Abdullah was racially discriminated against in both the labor market and when selling mortgage loans in the USA.
how Abdullah dealt with racial discrimination and how it gave him his Phd dissertation question.
how online price comparison websites may actually be anti-competitive.
how online stores are eating into the consumer surplus.
and much much more.
Check out the shownotes page to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/abdullaalbahrani
Subscribe on iTunes and never miss an episode.

Dr. Abdullah Al Bahrani is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Northern Kentucky University, where he serves as the Principles of Economics Coordinator.

Abdullah received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Kentucky in 2010, where he received an award for Best Economics Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Find Out:

why Abdullah decided to do a Phd in Economics in 2006 and left the mortgage industry just before it imploded.
about Abdullah’s economic consultancy work with the Sultanate of Oman.
about Abdullah’s connection when reviewing labor market studies in Oman (Hint: She is the Director General of the National Centre of Career Guidance and is as maternal to Abdullah as Oman is to him).
how Oman are creating an entrepreneurial spirit to drive is economy in the future.
why Oman is faced with difficulties in transitioning to an entrepreneurial economy.
how Omani culture is preventing it’s people to take on risk and why incentives do not work.
about Abdullah’s suggestion that to create an entrepreneurial spirit in Oman, the labor market must first be liberalised.
why discrimination exists in the Omani labor market and why US and UK ex-pats would be a preferred employee.
how data limitations for Oman make it difficult to conduct an empirical analysis of the labor market.
about Oman’s tourism initiative to create Oman as an eco-friendly destination.
how Abdullah is integrating social media into the classroom, making education a more interactive and conducive learning environment for students.
how to create a sense of community in a classroom.
why Abdullah received an Easter basket of goodies from a student’s mother.
why Abdullah is ‘helping his students to ‘clean’ their social media footprint.
about the research Abdullah is doing on racial discrimination in the labor market.
how Abdullah is identifying how racial discrimination is evident in online markets where, unlike traditional markets, the color of your skin is not a factor.
how Abdullah was racially discriminated against in both the labor market and when selling mortgage loans in the USA.
how Abdullah dealt with racial discrimination and how it gave him his Phd dissertation question.
how online price comparison websites may actually be anti-competitive.
how online stores are eating into the consumer surplus.
and much much more.
Check out the shownotes page to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/abdullaalbahrani
Subscribe on iTunes and never miss an episode.

Previous Episode

032: Joe Gladstone on the 'Pay What You Want' Pricing Model and Using Big Data to Understand You Better

Joe Gladstone is an academic researcher and consultant based at the University of Cambridge, where he applies insights from behavioural economics and psychological research to better understand consumer behaviour.

Joe partners with some of the world’s largest corporations, such as Twitter, Bupa and Visa, as well as government departments, to tackle challenges that deal with behaviour change.

Joe's views on consumer behaviour have been featured in the BBC, Forbes, The Huffington Post and other media outlets.

Joe is founder of BE-events.org and BE-Recruit.com. He received his Masters from Oxford University and his Phd from Cambridge University, and has been awarded a range of competitive grants and prizes.

Find Out:

about the link between the discipline of psychology and economics.
why Joe decided to do postgraduate research in behavioral economics.
how advances in technology, especially in social media, can help behavioral scientists understand human behaviour better.
why you do not know how much you spend on coffee.
how Joe has identified the relationship between psychology and money.
how Joe has used the ‘My Personality’ app to predict your personality from what you like.
how companies can use ‘Big Data’ to target messages directly to you.
why people are willing to pay for services that they could otherwise get for free.
if TIDAL will disrupt the online music industry by taking control of their own music.
if Spotify risks losing out to TIDAL.
how important is the price of zero?
how the ‘Pay What You Want’ pricing model defies classical economic theory.
why people pay even if they are given the option to take the product for free.
how Radiohead made more in sales when offering their album on a ‘Pay What You Want’ basis.
if the ‘Pay What You Want’ model is sustainable for a business in the long run?
how Jon Bon Jovi has successfully implemented the ‘Pay What You Want’ model in his Soul Kitchen restaurant in New Jersey.
how sitting with strangers to eat in Soul Kitchen can ‘nudge’ diners to pay more than what they were initially willing to pay.
about Joe’s passion for financial literacy and financial empowerment.
if you can become immune to nudging by having a deeper understanding of it.
if knowledge prevents you from being nudged.
about behavioral economics events that could be going on in your area with BE-event.org.
how Joe maximises his time by outsourcing his work on oDesk.
and much, much more.
Check out the shownotes page to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/joegladstone
Subscribe to the Economic Rockstar podcast on iTunes and never miss an episode.

Next Episode

034: David Simon on Meatonomics and How the Meat and Dairy Industry Impose Substantial Negative Externalities on Society

David Robinson Simon is a lawyer and advocate for sustainable consumption.

David works as general counsel for a healthcare company and serves on the board of the Animal Protection and Rescue League Fund, a non-profit dedicated to protecting animals.

David runs a website that keeps us up-to-date on matters arising from the farm animal industry as well as informing us of other animal-related causes.

David received his B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and his J.D. from the University of Southern California. He is the author of two books: New Millennium Law Dictionary, a full-length legal dictionary and Meatonomics.

He lives in Southern California with his partner, artist Tania Marie, and their rabbit, tortoise, and two cats.

Find Out:

why David, a lawyer, turned to economics to explain how the meat industry is a cost to society.
about the lack of rights that exist for farm animals.
how the farming community set the standards on how farm animals are treated.
how the Customary Farming Extension was introduced to legally treat farm animals inhumanely.
about the environmental costs associated with producing animal products.
how to control or even reverse climate change by reducing meat consumption.
how taking shorter showers is not going to alleviate the drought in California.
what the true external cost to society is when someone consumes an animal product.
how deferring climate change measures today will impose greater costs on society in the future.
what David, who is a vegan, had for breakfast this morning.
the ingredients to David’s ‘power smoothie’ - a refreshing and nutrient dense meal in a glass!
how companies are being subsidised by government to lower the retail price of meat.
about the heavy subsidies being paid out to the meat industry.
how artificially-low meat and dairy prices are fuelled by out-of-whack farm subsidies.
about Ireland’s removal of milk quotas and what it means for market prices.
and much, much more.
Check out the shownotes page to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/davidsimon
Subscribe on iTunes and never miss an episode.