About

Leila Dagher

Founding Director of the Center for Policy Action
Associate Professor of Economics and Policy

Dr. Leila Dagher is the Founding Director of the Center for Policy Action and Associate Professor of Economics and Policy at the Lebanese American University and has been an adjunct lecturer at the George Washington University since 2016. She currently serves as an editor for Energy Policy, as well as on the editorial board of four other journals. Dr. Dagher is a regular participant in academic and policy debates. She has previously served in various capacities such as Economic Adviser to several public officials, Director of the Institute of Financial Economics and Chairperson of the Department of Economics (AUB). Her research focuses on economics and policy issues related to the areas of energy, environment, and financial crises, among others. She has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles and was ranked among the Top 2% Scientists worldwide for 2024 (Stanford/Elsevier list). Her work has appeared in leading academic journals and in more widely accessible forums. Dr. Dagher received her Bachelor of Engineering from the American University of Beirut and her Ph.D. in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines. Before joining the LAU, Dr. Dagher had taught for 15 years at the AUB with several visiting stints including Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Research Interests

Energy Economics and Policy, Environmental Economics and Sustainability Policy, Political Economy and Development, and Financial Economics and Macro-Financial Stability.

SDGs Research Mapping

Dr. Leila Dagher conducts research relevant to the following SDGs:

Selected Publications

  1. Nassar, I. Y., Fala, A., Ahmad, N., & Dagher, L.* (2026 In Press). From Shadow to Structure: Lebanon’s Decentralized Path to Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Formalization. Public Administration and Development. (Q1, 2024 IF: 2.1).
  2. Dagar, V., Rao, A., Dagher, L., Kagzi, M., & Acevedo-Duque, ?. (2025 In Press). Geopolitical instability and environmental sustainability. Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, 1-27. (Q2, 2023 IF: 2.3).
  3. Dagher, L.,* Nassar, F. N., & Sidani, O. (2025). From Margins to Mainstream: Pathways to Resilience and Reform in Lebanon’s Urban Informal Sector. Third World Quarterly, 46 (9), 1059-1078. (Q1, 2023 5 year IF: 2.6).
  4. Altug, S., Barakat, M., Dagher, L., & Uluceviz, E. (2025). From tweets to markets: Lebanon’s policy uncertainty and volatility spillovers in MENA stock markets. Borsa Istanbul Review, 25 (5), 852-867. (Q1, 2023 IF: 6.3).
  5. Sharma, R., Chawla, S., Dagar, V. & Dagher, L.* (2025). Corporate SDG Adoption, Share Price Synchronicity, and the Role of Incentive-Compatible Contracts in India. Finance Research Letters, 74, p. 106739. (Q1, 2021 IF: 9.846).
  6. Abid, I., Guesmi, K., Urom, C., Alshammari, S., & Dagher, L. (2024). Strategic Commodities’ Price Risk and Financial Contagion in Oil and Gas Exporting Countries. The Energy Journal, 45 (SI). (Q1, 2020 IF: 2.414).
  7. Dagar, V., Rao, A., Dagher, L. & Doytch, N. (2024). Climate Change Dynamics for Global Energy Security and Equity: Evidence from Policy Stringency Drivers. Journal of Environmental Management, 370, p.122484. (Q1, 2022 IF: 9.391).
  8. Abi Younes, O., Dagher, L., Jamali, I. & Makdissi, P. (2024). Quantifying Turbulence: Introducing a Multi-crises Impact Index for Lebanon. Social Indicators Research, 1-24. (Q1, 2022 IF: 3.375).
  9. Dagar, V., Dagher, L., Rao, A., Doytch, N. & Kagzi, M. (2024). Economic Policy Uncertainty: Global Energy Security with Diversification. Economic Analysis and Policy, 82, 248-263. (2022 IF: 7.019).
  10. Dagher, L.,* Rao, A., Vishal, D. & Shobande, O.  (2024). Uncertainty and Risk in Cryptocurrency Markets: Evidence of Time-Frequency Connectedness. Applied Finance Letters, 13, 48-62.
  11. Chahal, J., Dagar, V., Dagher, L., Rao, A., & Udemba, E. N. (2023). The crisis effect in TPB as a moderator for post-pandemic entrepreneurial intentions among higher education students: PLS-SEM and ANN approach. The International Journal of Management Education, 21(3), 100878. (2022 IF: 5.2).
  12. Dagher, L., Jamali, I., & Abi Younes, O. (2023). Extreme energy poverty: The aftermath of Lebanon’s economic collapse. Energy Policy, 183, 113783. (2020 IF: 6.142).
  13. Udemba, E. N., Dagar, V., Peng, X., & Dagher, L. (2023). Attaining environmental sustainability amidst the interacting forces of natural resource rent and foreign direct investment: Is Norway any different?. OPEC Energy Review, 48(1), 19-35. (2022 IF: 2.2).
  14. Rao, A., Dagar, V., Sohag, K., Dagher, L., Tanin, T., 2023. Good for the planet, good for the wallet: The ESG impact on financial performance in India. Finance Research Letters  56, 1-7. (2021 IF: 9.846).
  15. Dagher, L.,* and Hasanov, F., 2023. Oil market shocks and financial instability in Asian countries. International Review of Economics and Finance 84, 182-195. (2021 IF: 3.399).
  16. Urom, C., Guesmi, K., Abid, I., and Dagher, L.,* 2023. Dynamic integration and transmission channels among interest rates and oil price shocks. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 87, 296-317. (2020 IF: 2.619).
  17. Belaid, F., Dagher, L.,* and Filis, G., 2021. Revisiting the resource curse in the MENA region. Resources Policy 73, 1-14. (2020 IF: 5.634).
  18. Dagher, L.,* and Nehme, R., 2021. Can Lebanon’s Economy Be Saved? A Plan for Revival. Middle East Policy 28(1), 123-134. (2020 IF: 0.475).
  19. Ishrakieh, L.M., Dagher, L.* and El Hariri, S., 2020. A financial stress index for a highly dollarized developing country: The case of Lebanon. Central Bank Review, 20, 2, 43-52 (2020 JCI: 0.41).
  20. Dagher, L.,* Fattouh, B., and Jamali, I., 2020. Oil price dynamics and energy transitions in the Middle East and North Africa: Economic implications and structural reforms. Energy Policy 139, 1-3 (2020 IF: 6.142).
  21. Ishrakieh, L.M., Dagher, L.,* and El Hariri, S., 2019. Not the usual suspects: Critical indicators in a dollarized country’s Financial Stress Index. Finance Research Letters 32, 1-6 (2020 IF: 5.596).
  22. Dagher, L.,* Bird, L., Heeter, J. 2017. Residential Green Power Demand in the United States. Renewable Energy 114, 1062-1068 (2020 IF: 8.001).
  23. Dagher, L.,* Harajli, H. 2015. Willingness to pay for green power in an unreliable electricity sector: Part 1. The case of the Lebanese residential sector. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50, 1634-1642 (2020 IF: 14.982).
  24. Cuddington, J., Dagher, L. 2014. Estimating Short and Long-Run Demand Elasticities: A Primer with Energy-Sector Applications. Energy Journal 36, 185-209 (2020 IF: 2.414).
  25. Dagher, L.,* El Hariri, S., 2013. The impact of global oil price shocks on the Lebanese stock market. Energy 63, 366-374 (2020 IF: 7.147).
  26. Dagher, L.,* Yacoubian, T., 2012. The causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in Lebanon. Energy Policy 50, 795-801 (2020 IF: 6.142).
  27. Dagher, L.,* 2012. Natural Gas demand at the utility level: An application of dynamic elasticities. Energy Economics 34, 961-969 (2020 IF: 7.042).
  28. Dagher, L.,* Ruble, I., 2011. Modeling Lebanon’s electricity sector: Alternative scenarios and their implications. Energy 36, 4315-4326 (2020 IF: 7.147).
  29. Ruble, I., Dagher, L., 2010. Challenges to International Climate Policy – Lessons Learned and Alternatives. International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses 2 (1), 87-101.
  30. Dagher, L.,* Ruble, I., 2010. Challenges for CO2 Mitigation in the Lebanese Electric Power Sector. Energy Policy 38, 912-918 (2020 IF: 6.142)

Academic Degrees

  • PhD in Mineral Economics, Colorado School of Mines, USA, 2009.
  • BE in Electrical Engineering, American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 1998.