Curriculum Vitae

The PDF version of my CV can be found here.

Education

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Cornell University                                                                                                                                       Ithaca, NY

Ph.D. Candidate, Applied Economics & Management                                                                               May 2021 (expected)

Fields: Public Finance, Development Economics

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University of Minnesota – Twin Cities (Fulbright Scholar)                                                                          Minneapolis, MN

Master of Public Policy (MPP)                                                                                                                    May 2014

            Concentration: Applied Microeconometrics

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Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)                                                                                 Lahore, Pakistan

Bachelor of Science (Honors with Merit)                                                                                                     May 2010           

            Concentration: Economics

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Working Papers

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Ali Abbas. “Statutory Versus Effective Kinks: Using the Alternative Minimum Tax to Estimate the Elasticity of

Taxable Income for High Earners” (Job Market Paper)

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Ali Abbas and Ali Cheema. “An Alternative Approach to Property Valuation and Taxation in Developing Countries”

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Ali Abbas. “Multidimensional Measurement of Sectoral Performance: Evidence from Public Schools in Pakistan”

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Research in Progress

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Ali Abbas, David Albouy, and Michael Lovenheim. “Tax Reforms and Voting Behavior in the United States”

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Ali Abbas. “The Impact of Inequality on Federal-State Transfers: The Case of the Federal Medicaid Assistance

Percentage”

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Ali Abbas, Michael Callen, Ali Cheema Adnan Q. Khan, and Shandana Khan-Mohmand. “Trust, Taxation and Local
Governments”

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Publications (Non-Peer Reviewed)

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Ali Abbas and Ali Cheema (2020). “Reforming the Property Tax System in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”
                Media Coverage: Dawn.com, Business Recorder

 

Ali Abbas, Adnan Khan, Asim Khwaja and Monica Singhal. (2017). “Pilot Study on the Effect of Political Influence on

Tax Payment Compliance”, International Growth Centre

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Ali Abbas, Mariam Adil and Salman Asim. (2015). “Community Engagement Mechanisms: Field Experiment in

Pakistan”, World Bank

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Ali Abbas. (2014). “Rust Dust: Mounting Debt and Eroding Capital in the American Metropolis” (MPP thesis)

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Research & Professional Experience

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Government of Punjab, Pakistan – Resource Mobilization Committee (RMC) (May 2019 - Present)

Consulting Economist

  • Assisting the RMC to conceptualize alternative property tax regimes and simulate their revenue and distributional impacts in the 110-million strong Punjab province. The RMC comprises the provincial Finance Minister, and secretaries of the Excise & Taxation, Local Government, and Finance departments

 

Cornell University – Dyson School of Applied Economics (May 2019 - August 2019)

Research Assistant

  • Assisted Daniela Scur (Dyson School) and Katarzyna Bilicka (University of Utah) to analyze the impact of management structures on global corporate tax avoidance

 

Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP) (June 2014 - July 2016)

Research Associate

  • Assisted Asim I. Khwaja (Harvard University), Benjamin Olken (MIT) and Adnan Q. Khan (LSE) on two randomized controlled trials:

        ▪ “Making Moves Matter: Experimental Evidence on Incentivizing Bureaucrats through Performance-Based Postings (American Economic Review, 2019)”

        ▪ “Rebuilding the Social Compact: Urban Service Delivery and Property Taxes in Pakistan”

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The World Bank (HQ) (May 2014 - June 2016)

Short-Term Consultant

  • Conducted econometric analysis for an education-sector impact evaluation that targeted 500+ schools in 230 villages in Sindh province, to enhance the capacity and participation of communities in school administration

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The Brookings Institution – Metropolitan Policy Institute (May 2013 - August 2013)

Summer Intern

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Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) Pakistan (August 2011 - June 2012)

Associate Coordinator (Project Design and Research)

 

Pakistan Policy Group (May 2010 - July 2011) 

Research Fellow

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Conferences

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2021     Evidence-Based Economics (EBE) Munich Summer Meeting: Paper Presentation (scheduled)

2020     National Tax Association (NTA) 113th Annual Conference (Virtual): Paper presentation

2020     76th Annual Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF): Paper Presentation

2019     National Tax Association (NTA) 112th Annual Conference (Tampa, Florida): Paper presentation

2019     Pakistan Development Forum (Harvard University): Organizing team member

2019     International Growth Center (IGC) “Cities that Work” Lahore Workshop: Invited Speaker

2018     National Tax Association (NTA) 111th Annual Conference (New Orleans, Louisiana): Discussant

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Teaching

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Cornell University – Department of Economics

ECON 1120: Introductory Macroeconomics (Head Graduate Teaching Assistant)                                   Spring 2020

ECON 1110: Introductory Microeconomics (Head Graduate Teaching Assistant)                                    Spring 2019

ILRLE 2400: Economics of Wages and Employment (Graduate Teaching Assistant)                               Fall 2019

 

Cornell University – Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management

AEM 1300: Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory and Policy (Graduate Teaching Assistant)                 Summer 2020

AEM 4110: Introduction to Econometrics (Graduate Teaching Assistant)                                                   Fall 2018

                   (Conducted weekly lab lectures • Evaluation: 4.91/5.0)

AEM 2400: Marketing                                                                                                                                  Summer 2018

AEM 2601: Managerial Economics II                                                                                                          Spring 2018

AEM 6120: Applied Econometrics (Graduate Teaching Assistant)                                                             Fall 2017

                  (Conducted weekly theory lectures • Evaluation: 4.69/5.0)

AEM 7010-11: Applied Microeconomics I (Graduate Teaching Assistant)                                                  Fall 2017

                  (PhD Applied Economics core class)

 

University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) – Humphrey School of Public Affairs

PA 5011: Management of Organizations (Teaching Assistant)                                                                   Fall 2013

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Grants, Honors and Awards

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Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award (“Golden Apple Award”), Cornell University                                2019

Mario Einaudi International Research Travel Grants ($3,000), Cornell University                                                    2018-2019

CARE-Cornell Summer Research Fellowship, Cornell University                                                                            2017

Graduate Fellowship, Dyson School, Cornell University                                                                                           2016-2017

Nominated for Best Teaching Assistant Award, University of Minnesota                                                                  2014

Fulbright Scholarship for Graduate Study, Department of State, United States                                                       2012-2014

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Service​

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Member, Diversity in Cornell Economics (DICE), Cornell University                                                                         2019-2020

Treasurer, Graduate Student Association, Dyson School, Cornell University                                                            2017-2019

Seminar Committee Member, Graduate Student Association, Dyson School, Cornell University                             2017-2018

Vice President, Public Affairs Student Association, University of Minnesota                                                             2013-2014

University Council Member, Lahore University of Management Sciences                                                                 2009-2010

Student Council Member, Lahore University of Management Sciences                                                                    2009-2010

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Public Engagement

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Newspapers

  • Contributed to the Dawn opinion pages, The Friday Times, and the Daily Times.

Blogging

  • Contributed to the Pakistan Policy Group blog, Pak Tea House & Naya Daur.

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Skills

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Software proficiency: Stata (advanced), R (intermediate), MATLAB (basic), SAS (basic), Mathematica (basic), LaTex (intermediate); Microsoft Office Suite (advanced)

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Languages: English; Urdu; Hindi; Spanish (beginner)

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