Tarek Ghani

Tarek Ghani

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Tarek Ghani is an assistant professor of strategy at Washington University's Olin Business School and a nonresident fellow of the Brookings Institution's Global Economy and Development Program. During 2020-2021, he served as chief economist and Future of Conflict program director at the International Crisis Group. He holds a Ph.D. in Business & Public Policy from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and a B.S. in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University.

Awards/Honors

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• 2019 Reid Teaching Award - PMBA, Olin Business School, 2019
• Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, 2010
• Phi Beta Kappa, Stanford University, 2004
• Harry S. Truman Scholarship, 2003

Research Interests

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Tarek's research examines the social impact of digital technologies on private and public organizations, and how firms and markets respond to frictions in the institutional environment. His work has appeared in top journals such as the American Economic Review, AEJ: Microeconomics, Management Science, Review of Economics & Statistics, and Journal of Politics.

Selected Publications

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• "Why Do Defaults Affect Behavior? Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan", American Economic Review, Issue 10, 2868-2901, with J. Blumenstock, M. Callen, 2018
• "Violence and Financial Decisions: Evidence from Mobile Money in Afghanistan", Review of Economics and Statistics, Issue 2, 352-369, with J. Blumenstock, M. Callen, R. Gonzalez, 2024
• "Can Digital Aid Deliver During Humanitarian Crises?", Management Science, with Michael Callen, Miguel Fajardo-Steinhauser, Michael Findley
• "Insecurity and Firm Displacement: Evidence from Afghan Corporate Phone Records", American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, with Joshua Blumenstock, Sylvan Herskowitz, Ethan Kapstein, Thomas Scherer, Ott Toomet
• "Mining Competition and Violent Conflict in Africa: Pitting Against Each Other", Journal of Politics, with Anouk Rigterink, Juan Lozano, Jacob Shapiro
• "Relationships on the Rocks: Contract Evolution in a Market for Ice", American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, Issue 1, 330-365, with T. Reed, 2022
• "The Sting in COVID-19’s Tail (Foreign Affairs)", 2021
• "Climate Change Doesn't Have to Stoke Conflict (Foreign Affairs)", with R. Malley, 2020