Education
Ph.D., Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. December 2013.
M.A., Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. August 2011
B.A., Mathematics and Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. May 2008.
Teaching and Research Fields
Primary: Law and Economics, Political Economy, Public Choice, Quantitative Methods.
Secondary: Economics of Public Policy, Institutional Economics.
Teaching Experience
Clinical Assistant Professor, Finance Department, University of Texas at Austin
Managerial Microeconomics for Full-Time MBAs (B A 280S), Fall 2019-2020
Managerial Economics for Executive MBAs (B A 380S), Spring 2020
Managerial Microeconomics for Full-Time Dallas MBAs (B A 284S), Spring 2020
Managerial Economics for the Undergraduate BBAs (FIN372), Spring 2020
Lecturer, Economics Department, University of Texas at Austin
Economics of Ethics & Social Justice (ECO 349K), Fall 2018
Introduction to Microeconomics (ECO 304K), Spring 2017, Spring 2018
Law and Economics (ECO 349K/MA ECO 395K), Fall 2016-Summer 2018
Introduction to Economics (ECO 301), Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018
Assistant Professor of Economics, Southwestern University
Principles of Economics (ECO31-104), Spring 2016
Law and Economics (ECO31-304), Spring 2015, Spring 2016
Logic and Behavior: Theory, Practice, and Policy (ECO31-304), Fall 2015
Graduate Lecturer, George Mason University
Mathematical Economics for MA Students (ECON-630), Fall 2013
Mathematical Economics (ECON-340), Spring 2012
Principles of Microeconomics (ECON-103), Summer 2011
Law and Economics (ECON-415), Spring 2011
Instructor, George Mason University
Mathematics Camp for MA and Ph.D. Economics Students, Summer 2011 – Summer 2013
Adjunct Instructor of Mathematics, George Mason University
Introductory Algebra (MATH-009), Fall 2008 – Fall 2011 (12 classes; 2 per semester)
Research Experience
Associate Director of Research, University of Texas Center for Politics & Governance, May 2016 – August 2017
Research Fellow with the Regulatory Studies Program, Mercatus Center, George Mason University, December 2013 – May 2016
Research Associate with the Regulatory Studies Program, Mercatus Center, George Mason University, May 2012 – December 2013
Research Assistant to Dr. Richard Brown, Mathematics Department, American University, Summer 2004
Grants and Research Funding
Principal Investigator, Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University ($5,000), May 2018
Principal Investigator, Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University ($5,000), May 2018
Principal Investigator, Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University ($50,000), March 2018
Principal Investigator, Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University ($50,000), October 2017
Principal Investigator, Mercatus Center at George Mason University ($3,000), January 2017
Honors, Scholarships, and Fellowships
Henry Manne Privacy Fellowship, Law and Economics Center, George Mason University, September 2014 – June 2014
Dissertation Fellowship, Graduate Student Programs, Mercatus Center, George Mason University, Fall 2012 – Fall 2013
Research Assistantship to Dr. Charles Rowley, The Walter Williams Research Assistantship, Economics Department, George Mason University, Fall 2011, Spring 2012
College of Humanities and Social Sciences Fellowship, George Mason University, Spring 2011
Publications
Refereed Journal Articles
Edward J. Calabrese, Jaap C. Hanekamp, and Dima Yazji Shamoun, “The EPA Cancer Risk Assessment Default Model Proposal: Moving Away From the LNT,” The Journal of Dose-Response 16, no.3 (July 2018): 1-4, doi: 10.1177/1559325818789840.
Dima Yazji Shamoun, "Linear No-Threshold Model and Standards for Protection Against Radiation," The Journal of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 77 (June 2016): 49-53, dos: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2016.02.011.
Edward J. Calabrese, Dima Yazji Shamoun, and Jaap C. Hanekamp, “The Integration of LNT and Hormesis for Cancer Risk Assessment Optimizes Public Health Protection,” The Journal of Health Physics 110, no.3 (March 2016): 256-259, doi: 10.1097/HP.0000000000000382.
Dima Yazji Shamoun and Bruce Yandle, “Asserting Presidential Preferences in a Regulatory Review Bureaucracy,” Public Choice (February 2016): 1–25, doi:10.1007/s11127-016-0316-9.
Edward J. Calabrese, Dima Yazji Shamoun, and Jaap C. Hanekamp, “Cancer Risk Assessment: Optimizing Human Health through Linear Dose–Response Models,” Food and Chemical Toxicology 81 (July 2015): 137–40, doi:10.1016/j.fct.2015.04.023.
Patrick A. McLaughlin, Jerry Ellig, and Dima Yazji Shamoun, “Regulatory Reform in Florida: An Opportunity for Greater Competitiveness and Economic Efficiency," Florida State University Business Review 13, no. 1 (Spring 2014): 95-130.
Richard E. Wagner and Dima Yazji Shamoun, “Form vs. Substance in Selection through Competition: Elections, Markets, and Political Economy,” Public Choice 159, no. 3–4 (June 2014): 503–14, doi:10.1007/s11127-013-0065-y.
Anthologies
Dima Yazji Shamoun, ed. Economics of Ethics & Social Justice. (Cognella Academic Publishing, 2018).
Thomas Carl Rustici, James Caton, Theo Shamoun, and Dima Yazji Shamoun, eds. Macroeconomics. The Monetary Foundations of the Macroeconomy Volume 1 (Cognella Academic Publishing, 2015).
Thomas Carl Rustici, James Caton, Theo Shamoun, and Dima Yazji Shamoun, eds. Macroeconomics. Past and Present Volume 2 (Cognella Academic Publishing, 2015).
Chapters
Dima Yazji Shamoun and Bruce Yandle, “Bootleggers and Baptists in the Garden of Good and Evil:
Understanding America’s Entangled Economy.” In Law and Economics in Europe and the U.S.: The Legacy of Juergen Backhaus, edited by Alain Marciano and Giovanni Battista Ramello, 31–54. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47471-7_3.
Articles Under Review
Dima Yazji Shamoun and Edward J. Calabrese, “On Objective Risk,” Mercatus Working Paper, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA, July 2015. Under review for publication in the Journal of Risk Research.
Policy Papers
Edward J. Calabrese, Dima Yazji Shamoun, and Jaap C. Hanekamp, “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science.” Public Comment Before the Environmental Protection Agency, May 24, 2018.
Dima Yazji Shamoun, Edward J. Calabrese, Richard Williams, and James Broughel, “Regulation Under Uncertainty: Use of The Linear No Threshold Model in Chemical and Radiation Exposure,” July 2016.
Dima Yazji Shamoun, "Linear No-Threshold Model and Standards for Protection Against Radiation." Public Interest Comment Before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, October 22, 2015.
Sherzod Abdukadirov and Dima Yazji Shamoun, “Inflated Benefits in Agencies’ Economic Analysis,” Mercatus on Policy, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA, August 2012.
Educational Units
Dima Yazji Shamoun and Theo Shamoun, “Economics of Risk,” Teaching Free Enterprise in Texas, Southern Methodist University O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom, Summer 2018.
Dima Yazji Shamoun and Theo Shamoun, “Health Economics,” Teaching Free Enterprise in Texas, Southern Methodist University O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom, Summer 2017.
Op-Eds and Other Articles
James Broughel and Dima Yazji Shamoun, "The Risks of Ignorance in Chemical and Radiation Regulation." Real Clear Policy, September 21, 2016.
Dima Yazji Shamoun, "Warning Fatigue." Inside Sources, January 21, 2016.
Dima Yazji Shamoun, "Be Risk-Savvy: Consumers need to ask questions about the real risks of products." U.S. News and World Report, September 21, 2015.
Dima Yazji Shamoun, “Risky Business: Regulatory Agencies Need To Do Risk Assessment Right Or It Costs Taxpayers Big” U.S. News and World Report, August 3, 2015.
Thomas C. Rustici, Theo Shamoun, and Dima Yazji Shamoun, “The Smoot-Hawley Tariff and the Great Depression,” The Freeman, March 2012.
Research in Progress
“The Moral Core of Transaction Costs,” (with Lloyd Cohen and Theo Shamoun).
“Regulation: The Hybrid Good,” dissertation chapter developing a mathematical model of regulatory provision in an American-style democracy.
“Lobbying Might: Empirically Testing the Bootleggers and Baptists Theory of Regulation,” (with Patrick McLaughlin).
“Toward a Theory of Common Law Regulation,” (with Theo Shamoun).
“LNT vs. Threshold: The Economic Implications of Models for Benefit-Cost Analyses,” (with Richard Williams).
Invited Talks
"The Moral Core of Transaction Costs," co-authored with Lloyd Cohen and Theo Shamoun, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, February 22nd, 2019.
"The Curves that Sway Benefit-Cost Analysis," co-authored with Ed Calabrese and Jaap Hanekamp, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, February 15th, 2019.
"The Moral Core of Transaction Costs," co-authored with Lloyd Cohen and Theo Shamoun, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, January 14th, 2019.
“On Objective Risk,” co-authored with Ed Calabrese, Speaker at the Institute for Humane Studies and Texas Public Policy Foundation Seminar on “Which Institutions Best Support Prosperity in Texas and Beyond?” Austin, TX, June 2nd, 2018.
"Regulation in the Garden of Good and Evil," Guest Lecturer at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, TX, April 9, 2018.
“Cultivating Savvy: Risk in the Garden of Good and Evil,” McMurry University Johnson School of Business, Abilene, TX, September 25th, 2017.
"LNT and Economic Analysis in Risk-Based Regulation," co-authored with Richard Williams, Western Economic Association International, San Diego, CA, June 26, 2017.
"Bootleggers and Baptists in the Garden of Good and Evil: Understanding America’s Entangled Economy," co-authored with Bruce Yandle, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, Lahaina, HI, April 11, 2017.
"How Curves Can Save Your Life," Guest Lecturer at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, TX, March 6, 2017.
“On Objective Risk,” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, Toxicology Forum in Salt Lake City, UT, July 2016
"Process Objectivity and the Regulation of Peer-to-Peer Economy," Center for Politics & Governance Spring Seminar, University of Texas at Austin, TX, April 21, 2016
“On Objective Risk,” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, Senate Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA, March 29, 2016
“On Objective Risk,” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, March 04, 2016
“On Objective Risk,” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis, Washington, D.C., March 17, 2016
“On Objective Risk,” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, The Science, Policy and Risk Forums Sponsored by: ORACBA and National Capital Area Chapter of the Society of Risk Analysis at the USDA, Washington, D.C., September 15, 2015
Presentations
“The Effect on Benefit Estimates of Discarding Scientific Input Data,” Panel Chair, Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis in Washington, D.C., March 18, 2016
“On Objective Risk,” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, Society for Risk Analysis, Arlington, VA, December 9, 2015
“Privacy Regulations, Property Rights, and Prices” Third Annual LEC Public Policy Conference on the Economics of Privacy and Consumer Protection, Law and Economics Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA, June 17, 2015
“Privacy Regulations, Property Rights, and Prices,” Association of Private Enterprise Education, Cancun, Mexico, April 13, 2015
"What's Innovation Worth? A Study of the Effect of Privacy Laws on Micro-Marketing,” Law and Economic Center at George Mason University in Arlington, VA, January, 23, 2015
“Guidelines for Objective Risk Assessment Practices,” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, Society for Risk Analysis, Denver, CO, December 10, 2014
“Model Uncertainty in Cancer Risk Assessment” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, Poster Session at the Dose-Response Conference, Amherst, MA, April 22, 2014
“Risk Assessment Report Card” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, Poster Session at the Dose-Response Conference, Amherst, MA, April 22, 2014
“Model Uncertainty in Cancer Risk Assessment” co-authored with Edward Calabrese, Society for Risk Analysis, Baltimore, MD, December 11, 2013
“Competition and Selection in Political Economy,” (now titled: “Form vs. Substance in Selection through Competition: Elections, Markets, and Political Economy”) co-authored with Richard Wagner, Southern Economic Association, New Orleans, LA, November 16, 2012
Professional Workshops
Grant Development Workshop, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, June 2017.
Retrospective Benefit-Cost Analysis, Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis Conference, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., March 2016
Use of Expert Elicitation in Benefit-cost Analyses, Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis Conference, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., March 2016
Workshop for Economists on the Law & Economics of Consumer Protection, Law & Economics Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA, October 2014
Panel Data Analysis using Stata, Arlington, VA, November, 2013
Public Health Risk Science and Management, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., September 2013
Skills
• Languages: Arabic (Native); English (Fluent); French (Advanced).
• Software: Mathematica, Matlab, Minitab, Maple, SPSS, STATA.
References
Dr. Richard Wagner (Dissertation Chairman)
Harris Professor of Economics
George Mason University, Department of Economics
Dr. Bruce Yandle
Dean Emeritus, College of Business and Behavioral Science, Clemson University
Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Economics, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Dr. Walter Williams (Member of Dissertation Committee)
John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics
George Mason University, Department of Economics
Dr. Jason Abrevaya
Chair, Economics Department
Murray S. Johnson Chair in Economics, University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Lloyd Cohen
Professor of Law
Scalia Law School
Dr. Edward Calabrese
Professor of Toxicology
University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Department of Public Health
Environmental Health Sciences