Associate Professor of Economics
Sami Miaari
A globally recognized economist, thought leader, and changemaker — bridging rigorous academic research with transformative economic and social policy across the Middle East and beyond.
Tel Aviv University
Yale University (2024–25)
Oxford – Blavatnik (2017–19)
Arab Economic Forum Founder
More than an Economist — A Changemaker
Professor Sami Miaari is an Associate Professor of Economics in the Department of Labor Studies at Tel Aviv University. He holds a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics (2000), an M.A. with honors in Economics (2003), and a Ph.D. in Economics (2008), all from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His doctoral research focused on the labor market costs of conflict — a theme that has continued to shape his academic and policy-oriented work.
Over the years, Professor Miaari has held visiting and research appointments at leading international institutions, including serving as the Henry Hart Rice Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University (2024–2025), a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University (2017–2019), and a postdoctoral fellow at the European University Institute (2008–2009).
In parallel with his academic career, he has been actively engaged in applied policy work and public service, serving as a consultant to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, USAID, DFID, and the Bank of Israel — advising on conflict, labor markets, inequality, and economic development.
Since 2012, he has been the founder and chairman of the Arab Economic Forum, an institute dedicated to economic and social research, strategic planning, and policy advocacy for the Arab community in Israel. He currently serves as a board member of Meuhedet Health Services and as a member of Israel’s public advisory committee on the Consumer Price Index.
Associate Professor of Economics
Tel Aviv University, Dept. of Labor Studies
Chairman & Founder
Arab Economic Forum — Institute for Economic-Social Research & Strategic Planning
Member, Public Advisory Committee
Consumer Price Index, Israel
Board Member
Meuhedet Health Services (United Sick Fund), Israel
Advisory Board Member
NGT HealthCare
Research Fellow
Economic Research Forum (ERF)
Senior Research Fellow
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Germany
Education & Career Timeline
Advisor: Prof. Eitan Shashinsky
Dissertation: Labor market costs of conflict
Data Scientist & ML · Business Plans · Financial Reports
Areas of Scholarly Focus
Professor Miaari's research lies at the intersection of labor economics, political economy, and the economics of conflict — with a particular emphasis on how violent conflict, political instability, and structural inequality shape individual and household-level outcomes.
His work examines employment, wages, education, fertility, health, and political attitudes in conflict-affected and ethnically divided societies, with a strong focus on Israel/Palestine and comparative minority contexts. He employs rigorous causal inference methods, natural experiments, administrative data, and quasi-experimental designs.
In recent years, his work has expanded to include applied research on financial inclusion, fintech, financial education among youth and elderly populations in minority communities, and studies on healthcare workforce inequality and public service delivery.