Rate My Professor Firat Demir

Firat Demir is the L.J. Semrod Presidential Professor, Chair, and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Economics at the University of Oklahoma, positions he has held since 2021, 2023, and 2023, respectively. He joined the University of Oklahoma in 2006 as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012, and to Professor in 2018. Additionally, he serves as Co-Director of the Center for Peace and Development since 2022 and Affiliate Faculty in the Department of International and Area Studies since 2006. Demir earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame in 2006, an M.A. in Economics from the same university in 2002, and a B.A. in Management from Boğaziçi University in 1999. His research specializations include economic development, open economy macroeconomics, and political economy, with a focus on economic globalization, structural change, South-South trade and finance, financial globalization, and long-run development and growth. He has held Fulbright Scholar positions at Vilnius University in 2022 and the University of Montenegro in 2015-2016, as well as visiting positions at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2013, Koç University in 2013, and Denison University in 2005-2006.

Demir has received major awards including the VPRP Award for Excellence in Transdisciplinary, Convergent Research and the VPRP Annual Award for Excellence in Research Grants in 2024, the Kinney-Sugg Outstanding Professor Award in 2023, the L.J. Semrod Presidential Professor Award in 2021, Fulbright Awards in 2022 and 2015-2016, the Gary B. Cohen Distinguished Faculty Award in 2017, the Winner of the 2013 Best Academic Paper Competition by the Central Bank of Turkey, the Ibn Khaldun Prize from the Middle East Economics Association in 2008, and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies Dissertation Year Fellowship in 2004-2005. His key publications include the book South-South Trade and Finance in the 21st Century: Rise of the South or a Second Great Divergence (Anthem Press, 2016, with O.S. Dahi); Local Corruption, Total Factor Productivity and Firm Heterogeneity: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms (World Development, 2022, with C. Hu, J. Liu, and H. Shen); Gendered Effects of Sanctions on Manufacturing Employment: Evidence from Iran (Review of Development Economics, 2022, with S. Tabrizy); IMF Conditionality, Export Structure and Economic Complexity: The Ineffectiveness of Structural Adjustment Programs (Journal of Comparative Economics, 2022); Bilateral FDI Flows, Productivity Growth and Convergence: The North vs. the South (World Development, 2018, with Y. Duan); and The Real Exchange Rate and Development: Theory, Evidence, Issues, and Challenges (Journal of Economic Surveys, 2012, with A. Razmi). He serves as Associate Editor for Review of Social Economy since 2017 and has held editorial roles for Journal of Economic Surveys, Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, and others. Demir contributes to university governance through the Faculty Senate since 2023, Research Council since 2022, and various departmental committees.