Dr. Karim Barkat is an Associate Professor of Economics in the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from Aix-Marseille University (France) in October 2011. His principal research interests lie within the field of Development Economics and the role of institutions. In recent years he has focused on the effectiveness of Official development assistance (ODA) in promoting economic development and welfare in developing countries. Karim has taught several courses such as: Intermediate Microeconomics, Industrial Economics, Principles of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.