Political Economy of the Middle East this Fall

from Donna Lee Bowen, director of the MESA degree and member of the IR committee:

MESA is offering a mini-course on Foundations of Middle East Economics. Jamal Qureshi, SAIS graduate and oil analyst will explore the principles that underlie Middle East politics.

International Relations and Political Science students are welcome to enroll.

The course will be .5 credit hours and will run September 28-30 from 5:30-8 p.m.

"Follow The Money: Understanding The Economic Underpinnings of the Middle East" Jamal Qureshi presents a survey of the basic economic structures of the Middle East which includes the role of oil, population and demographic change, labor issues, water shortages, challenges in agriculture and so forth. He connects these phenomena to the political and social structures prevalent in the area and unpacks the challenges resulting from these economic factors. Qureshi’s goal is to give students a basic toolkit for understanding how the financial and economic lifeblood of the region works and how they can then use that as a tool to better understand things which they might otherwise tend to see from more one-dimensional political or cultural angles. This mini-course will help de-mystify the region and help deconstruct the fatal tendency to see the Middle East as the "other". Instead he will present an area that at its core operates on the same basic human dynamics as anywhere else.

Jamal Qureshi is a 1998 graduate of BYU with a BA in Near Eastern Studies and an Arabic minor. He is married with three children and served in the England London Mission from 1995-1997. After spending a year studying Arabic on a Fulbright grant at the American University in Cairo (AUC), he went on to obtain his M.A. in International Relations and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington DC. Born in Colorado and having lived in numerous places in the US, he has also spent many years abroad living in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Palestine, the UK, and Norway. His decade of professional experience includes having worked at the US State and Treasury departments, ExxonMobil's public affairs division, as the lead oil market analyst at consultancy PFC Energy in Washington DC, as the on-desk fundamentals analyst for Barclays Capital's crude and oil products traders in New York City, as a fundamentals analyst and hedge fund liaison at Hess Energy Trading Company (Hetco) in New York City, and now as the lead crude oil and refining trading analyst for Statoil (the Norwegian state oil company) in Stavanger, Norway. While oil markets are his specific professional niche, he considers participation in these markets an ideal perch for gaining a broader understanding of the interaction of markets, economics, politics, and the struggles of the developing world.

Korea Economic Institute Internships

forwarded by a former BYU student:

Economics/Asia-Related Internship Opportunity in Washington, DC

The Korea Economic Institute (KEI) is looking for undergraduate or graduate students with a background in political science and/or economics, as well as an interest in Asia-Pacific issues (especially Korea) for its internship program. We offer competitive candidates a unique internship opportunity to be integrally involved in the inner workings of an international government policy institute. Applications are being accepted for the Summer 2010 semester until March 25.
Why Intern at KEI?

KEI interns are on the cusp of current events, hearing the news before it is released, and organizing the very interviews that are shown on the evening news. They are directly active in the practice of US-ROK diplomacy and provided maximum exposure to the issues and major players in the field of Korea-US Relations via: report publication, attendance at events, and both peer-to-peer and VIP networking opportunities. At KEI, interns gain experience in the areas of office management, event planning, data collection, economic analysis, and professional writing development.

Main Responsibilities
Attend conferences, programs, and hearings in the Washington area of interest to Korea;
Prepare short reports on such events;
Assist with the event planning and conduct of various KEI-sponsored conferences and programs;
Provide research support to full-time staff;
Administrative activities which will contribute to a fuller understanding of the inner workings of KEI;
Work as a team with members of staff and other interns on major events and projects;
Track specific issues in the media

Qualifications
Undergraduate or graduate student with a background in political science and/or economics as well as an interest in Asia-Pacific issues, especially Korea.
Excellent attention to detail, good organizational abilities and writing skills, professional demeanor, general office skills, strong computer skills.

How to Apply
If you or someone you know is interested in this position and your/their background and skill set match the profile outlined above, please submit a cover letter, resume, application and a brief writing sample to Sarah Howe by email, fax, or mail. There are three deadlines throughout the year. The deadline for Summer 2010 is March 25. For materials or more information, visit our website at http://www.keia.org/internships.php.

Internship Contact:
Sarah Howe
Associate Director for Programs
Korea Economic Institute
1800 K Street NW Suite 1010 Washington, DC 20006
E-mail: sh@keia.org

The CEA is currently recruiting Research Assistants and Staff Economists

from Mark Showalter in the Economics Department:

CEA is looking for RAs. This is a 1-2 year position. If you know of an excellent graduating student who might be interested, please have them contact me. Good econometric skills are a plus. As are excellent oral and writing skills.

Thanks,
Mark




Dear Mark,
Thank you for your help in recruiting in recent years. I hope you continue to value your time at the CEA. As you know, BYU graduate Eric Cragun worked out well here as an RA.
We are currently recruiting for research assistants in economics for 2010-11. RAs at the CEA generally work here for a year or two, before continuing graduate studies. Perhaps you are in a position to forward the attached document to senior economics concentrators at Brigham Young. (To be more precise, the demographic that I would like to reach are senior thesis writers in economics or those who are considering graduate school in economics--but you may circulate this posting to anyone you see fit.) If you are not the right point of contact, I would be grateful if could could forward this document to the appropriate person.
We also hire staff economists who are usually ABD graduate students. If you know of a grad student who might benefit from a year with us, please let us know. They usually return with lots of ideas for a thesis--in addition to getting to know the policy world.

Steven Braun
Director of Macroeconomic Forecasting
Council of Economic Advisers
phone: 202-395-4666
fax: 202-395-6853
email: sbraun@cea.eop.gov

Econ 431 - Economic Development

Please note there is a typographical error in the course catalog this year regarding Economics 431. The prerequisites for the class are Econ 380 and either Econ 388 or PlSc 328. Until this year Econ 382 was a prerequisite for the course. The economics department has dropped that requirement, but since Econ 380 was and is a prerequisite for Econ 382, it was not listed previously as a requirement for Econ 431.

You will still need to complete Econ 380 before you can enroll in any 400-level economics course. Econ 432 and Econ 459 also require Econ 381 as a prerequisite. Be sure you make your academic plans accordingly.