Verses, hadiths & economists

“People, even scientists, cannot help hoping. Their expectations are simply more precise.”

— Karl A. Menninger

Research areas and themes

My work focuses on finance and development, but also on Islamic economics and finance, artificial intelligence and employment, and unemployment and growth — all open lines of inquiry, in ongoing dialogue with one another.

Finance

Growth and financial liberalization

The link between financial openness, investment and growth trajectories.

  • Financial openness and long-run dynamics
  • Reform sequencing and macroeconomic effects
  • Empirical reading of comparative experiences
Finance

Financial development and intermediation

Financial depth, credit allocation and productive investment.

  • Financial inclusion and banking efficiency
  • Financial development indicators
  • Credit, capital and productivity
Islamic finance

Islamic economics and finance

Principles, instruments and macroeconomic implications of ethical and Islamic finance.

  • Ribā, risk sharing and Islamic contracts
  • Intermediation and stability
  • Contemporary perspectives: Maghreb / MENA
AI & work

Artificial intelligence and employment

Impacts of AI on the labor market, skills and the organization of production.

  • Capital–labor substitution and complementarity
  • New forms of employment and polarization
  • Public adaptation policies
Labor market

Unemployment and employment dynamics

Determinants of unemployment, labor-market entry and transitions.

  • Youth unemployment and education–job matching
  • Rigidities and adjustments
  • Active labor market policies
Development

Inequality, growth and development

How finance and growth redistribute — or deepen — inequality.

  • Inclusive growth
  • Credit and income inequality
  • Policies to reduce disparities
Grounding

Why these research areas?

Three structuring pillars for research that is useful, rigorous and teachable.

Maghreb–MENA grounding

Questions of finance and development are examined through regional realities.

  • Morocco, the Maghreb and North Africa
  • Comparisons across emerging economies
  • Local monetary and banking policies

Empirical methods

Quantitative approaches that yield interpretable, teachable results.

  • Time series and cointegration
  • Panel models (logit, etc.)
  • Construction of financial indicators

Transfer to teaching

Research feeds into lectures, tutorials and thesis supervision.

  • PDF materials and structured sessions
  • Examples drawn from publications
  • Master’s thesis / PhD guidance
Scientific output

Recent publications

Articles in academic journals — finance, inequality and the Maghreb.

All publications →
2026

Le rôle de la zakat dans la réduction de la pauvreté et des inégalités : analyse bibliométrique et synthèse critique de la littérature

Asmae Bekki & Ahmed Khattab · RAFI

View publications →
2025

Analysis of Factors Leading to the Rejection of Transfer Pricing Policies of Multinational Companies in Morocco

Ahmed Khattab, M. A. Boulaich & K. Elbodmoussi · REK

View publications →
2021

The long-run impact of bank credit growth on social and economic inequalities in Morocco: evidence from Johansen’s cointegration analysis

International Journal of Applied Economics

2015

Financial development, financial instability and economic growth: the case of Maghreb countries

International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues

2015

Financial gradualism and banking crises in North Africa region: an investigation by a panel logit model

Journal of Economics and Political Economy

Teaching

Courses & materials

Five subjects with PDF materials and tutorials — direct access to the materials.

View all courses →
At a glance

Key figures

Content actually available on the site (indicative counts).

5
Research areas
4
Featured publications
5
Structured courses
60+
Linked PDF materials
For students

Useful resources

Suggested academic content to be expanded over the semester — blog included.

Coming soon

Blog / Research notes

Short notes popularizing a finding, a paper or economic news related to the research areas.

  • Financial liberalization and growth: what the Maghreb data sayProposed article · to be written
  • Bank credit and inequality in Morocco: reading a cointegration analysisProposed article · to be written
Available

PDF materials & tutorials

Sessions, tutorial worksheets and course documents already online on each subject page.

Go to courses →
Guidance

Master’s thesis / PhD guidance

Possible topics around finance, development and inequality — to be refined with the instructor.

Request a meeting →

The blog may be expanded later (research notes, course reviews, columns). The two titles above are proposals, not published articles.

Pathway

From coursework to research

A clear path for students who want to go further.

1

Courses

Follow the structured subjects (microeconomics, finance, monetary economics…).

2

Tutorials / PDFs

Work through the materials and sessions to consolidate the tools.

3

Articles

Read the publications to see how a question becomes a paper.

4

Areas

Locate your interest within one of the five research areas.

5

Supervision

Discuss a thesis, a project or a PhD direction.

Discuss a research project or a course

Students, colleagues or partners: write to me to discuss a research area, teaching material or a collaboration.

University contact: akhattab@uae.ac.ma · or via the Contact page