Simon Neaime obtained his PhD in 1997 in Economics from York University, Toronto - Canada. He holds an MA in Economics from the University of Toronto, and both a Master in Money & Banking and a BA in Economics from the American University of Beirut – Lebanon. He is currently Professor of Economics and Finance, former Director of the Institute of Financial Economics, and former Chair of the Department of Economics at the American University of Beirut. He is also associate editor of the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions, and Money; Finance Research Letters; Research in International Business and Finance; And the International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management. Dr. Neaime is now a Visiting Scholar at York University, in Toronto, Canada. He has numerous academic articles published in top field finance and economics journals on emerging economies in general and the MENA economies in particular. His most recent articles have appeared in Economic Modelling, Emerging Markets Review, Journal of Banking and Finance, Finance Research Letters, North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Open Economies Review, and the Review of Middle East Economics and Finance. Simon has also published several textbooks on emerging markets Finance and Macroeconomics.