**About the Editor**

**Almas Heshmati** is a Professor of Economics at Jonk ¨ oping University, Sweden. He held similar ¨ positions at the Sogang University, Korea University, Seoul National University, University of Kurdistan Hawler, and MTT Agrifood Research (Finland). He was a Research Fellow at the World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER), The United Nations University during 2001–2004. From 1998 until 2001, he was an Associate Professor of Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics. He has a Ph.D. degree from the University of Gothenburg (1994). His research interests include applied microeconomics, globalization, development economics, environmental economics, welfare economics, efficiency, productivity, and growth with applications to manufacturing and services. In addition to more than 150 scientific journal articles, he has published 30 books on the EU Lisbon Process, global inequality, East Asian manufacturing, Chinese economy, technology transfer, information technology, water resources, landmines, power generation, renewable energy, development economics, world values, poverty, well-being, and economic growth.
