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Usman W. Chohan

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Economist, UNSW Sydney

Dr. Usman W. Chohan is an international economist-academic who contributes extensively to the Conversation with the aim of bringing a policy reform expertise on pressing issues of social and economic consequence to a wider audience. He is featured as an "Impact Success Story" in the Conversation's 2016 Annual Stakeholder Report [1], and has also been included in the "50 Standout Articles from Australia's Top Thinkers" of the Conversation (Melbourne University Press, 2016) [2]. Usman has written more than 40 Op-Eds in the English, Spanish and French languages, for seven separate arms of the Conversation: Australia, Canada, France, Indonesia, Spain, Africa, and the United States. In terms of readership, he is among the Top 100 most read academics and Top 10 economists from UNSW on the Conversation.

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“The truth is always an abyss. One must dare to dive — like a swimming pool — from the quivering springboard of trivial everyday experience and sink into the depths, in order to later rise again — laughing and fighting for breath — to the now doubly illuminated surface of things.” — Kafka.
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BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Usman W. Chohan (b. Manhattan, New York) is the President of the International Association of Hyperpolyglots (HYPIA) [3], which receives individuals who speak 6+ languges fluently, and is himself fluent in seven Indo-European languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi), while also conversant in various others.

Dr. Chohan is a public value theorist [5A][5B][5C][5D], and an authority in research within a specialized subfield of legislative studies known as "Parliamentary Fiscal Scrutiny" [6A][6B][6C][6D][6E]. In Canada, his work was used to inform the landmark parliamentary debate on amending the Parliamentary Budget Office Act (C-476, 2013) [6C], and he was also a contributor to the Independent Review of the Parliamentary Budget Office of Australia in March, 2017.

Dr. Chohan completed his PhD in Economics on a full scholarship from UNSW (Australia) [7A], having created the world's first multidisciplinary synthesis of Independent Legislative Fiscal Institutions [7B]. Usman has an MBA from McGill [8A]; and he has done Masters coursework at MIT-Tsinghua [8B].

Dr. Usman W. Chohan is ranked among the top 20 out of the 12,000+ business authors and among the top 30 out of the 370,000+ academic authors in readership over the past 12 months on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) [11A][11B], which is the top open-access knowledge repository in the world. He launched a discussion paper series on Cryptocurrencies that includes some of the most read papers on SSRN since 2018 [11C].

In 2016, Dr. Chohan was included in the "50 Standout Articles from Australia's Top Thinkers" of the Conversation [11D]. He has delivered various public lectures including the 2015 Foreign Affairs Lecture in the Global Leadership Program (GLP) at Macquarie University in Sydney [11E].

Usman has also been a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum (WEF) [12].
He is a regular commentator on economic issues and current affairs, notably through Australia's SBS Multilingual radio in Hindi, French, Urdu, and Spanish [14A]. He has also appeared on the BBC, in February, 2017 to discuss international political economy, and in June, 2017 to discuss the Australian economy [14B].

Dr. Chohan also contributes to Australian Think Tanks, notably the Development Policy Institute and the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute (TTPI) [15A]. Usman became a Contributing Writer for Big Think in March, 2017 [15B]. Big Think is a knowledge platform, based in New York City, that draws on the expertise of leading global intellectuals to elaborate on issues of marked public interest.

Dr. Chohan writes and publishes prolifically, both within and beyond the Conversation. He sets and meets an annual goal of reading 110 books per year [16], and has been published in books, journals, and encyclopaediae (see Publications Section below).

He has previously been a Consultant with the World Bank (Social Accountability, WBI), working on issues of fiscal governance reform, and specifically, the implementation of Independent Legislative Fiscal Institutions (IFIs) to help bring impartial and nonpartisan financial expertise into global governance systems [17]. He is a Global Advisory Board Member of Economists Without Borders. Earlier on, he had served as the Special Situations Analyst in the Global Equities Team at Natcan Investment Management, the investment arm of the National Bank of Canada. The Global Equities team had six global investment professionals including Usman and $3 billion dollars in Assets under Management (AuM).

Given that his last four residences were Montreal, Buenos Aires, Canberra, and Beijing, you will likely find Usman W. Chohan roaming somewhere between these four coordinates at the ends of the earth.

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REFERENCES
[1] https://theconversation.com/a-year-in-review-our-2016-stakeholder-report-70276
[2] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33154754-50-standout-articles-from-australia-s-top-thinkers?ac=1&from_search=true#
[3A] https://www.polyglotassociation.org/president-s-message
[3B] http://www.polyglotassociation.org/
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anmWMFN4_aI
[5A] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01900692.2016.1242612?journalCode=lpad20
[5B] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01900692.2017.1373673
[5C] https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3408-1
[5D] https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3423-1
[6A] https://academic.oup.com/pa/article-abstract/70/2/361/2669626?redirectedFrom=fulltext
[6B] https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_698-1
[6C] http://www.parl.gc.ca/legisinfo/BillDetails.aspx?billId=5997160&Language=E&Mode=1&View=10
[6D] https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_403-1
[6E] http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/intellect/ijcis/2016/00000010/F0020001/art00007
[7A] https://research.unsw.edu.au/people/mr-usman-waqqas-chohan
[7B] https://www.unsworks.unsw.edu.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=unsworks_51862&context=L&vid=UNSWORKS&search_scope=unsworks_search_scope&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US
[8A] https://desautels.mcgill.ca/mba/blog/post/i-walk-free-thanks-to-desautels-by-usman-chohan-mba14/
[8B] http://usmanchohan.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/my-tsinghua-grades.html
[10] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiikCBP5u48
[11A] https://hq.ssrn.com/rankings/Ranking_Display.cfm?TMY_gID=2&TRN_gID=2
[11B] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=2508452
[11C] https://www.usmanchohan.com/cryptocurrencies
[11D] https://www.mup.com.au/items/199649
[11E] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anmWMFN4_aI
[12] https://www.facebook.com/globalshaperscanberra/posts/211126929240102:0
[14A] https://www.usmanchohan.com/
[14B] https://clyp.it/bp3atrnm
[15A] http://www.austaxpolicy.com/author/usman-w-chohan/
[15B] http://bigthink.com/experts/usman-chohan
[16A] https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/6863474?sort_by=rating&expand=true
[16B] https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/11011595
[17] http://www.revparl.ca/36/3/36n3e_13_chohan.pdf

Experience

  • 2016–present
    President, International Association of Hyperpolyglots
  • 2017–present
    Global Advisory Board Member, Economists Without Borders
  • 2018–present
    Director, Economics & National Affairs, Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS)
  • 2015–2018
    Global Shaper, World Economic Forum
  • 2013–2014
    Consultant, World Bank
  • 2008–2012
    Special Situations Analyst, National Bank of Canada

Education

  • 2019 
    UNSW, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Economics
  • 2018 
    UNSW, PhD, Economics
  • 2014 
    MIT-Tsinghua, Masters MBA Coursework
  • 2014 
    McGill University, MBA

Publications

  • 2019
    Synthesis: Mobilizing Insights from Three Sources, SAGE Research Methods Politics & International Relations
  • 2019
    Are Cryptocurrencies Truly Trustless?, Cryptofinance & Mechanisms of Exchange: The Making of Virtual Currency. Springer
  • 2019
    Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs): Risks, Regulation, and Accountability, Cryptofinance & Mechanisms of Exchange: The Making of Virtual Currency. Springer
  • 2019
    Public Value Theory and Budgeting: International Perspectives, Routledge
  • 2019
    Documentary Research: Positing Innovations in a National Budget Process, SAGE Research Methods Politics & International Relations
  • 2019
    Comparative Case Studies: Contrasting Two Budget Institutions, SAGE Research Methods Politics & International Relations
  • 2018
    La rentabilidad de Bitcoin y el efecto Lunes, Horizontes Empresariales, Vol 16, Issue 2
  • 2018
    Independent Budget Offices and the Politics Administration Dichotomy, International Journal of Public Administration. Vol 41 (12), 1009-1017
  • 2018
    The Roles of Independent Legislative Fiscal Institutions: a Multidisciplinary Analysis , UNSW Canberra, Australia
  • 2018
    The Political Economy of OBOR and Global Economic Center of Gravity, The Belt and Road Initiative: Law, Economics, Politics. Brill Nijhoff: Netherlands.
  • 2018
    What is One Belt One Road? A Surplus Recycling Mechanism Approach, The Belt and Road Initiative: Law, Economics, Politics. Brill Nijhoff: Netherlands.
  • 2018
    Public Value as Rhetoric: A Budgeting Approach, International Journal of Public Administration. Vol 41 (15), 1217-1227
  • 2018
    Pension Fund Regulation and Governance, Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer International Publishing: New York.
  • 2018
    Budget Reform and Political Reform, Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer International Publishing: New York
  • 2018
    Budget Policy and Reconstruction in Iraq, Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer International Publishing: New York
  • 2018
    Accountability and Governance in Fiji , Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer International Publishing: New York
  • 2018
    Charters of Budget Honesty, Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer International Publishing: New York
  • 2017
    Public Value in Politics: A Legislative Budget Office Approach, International Journal of Public Administration. Vol 40, Issue 12
  • 2017
    What is a Charter of Budget Honesty? The Case of Australia, Canadian Parliamentary Review, Vol 40, Issue 1
  • 2017
    Public Value: Bureaucrats vs Politicians, Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer International Publishing: New York
  • 2017
    Qu’est-ce que une charte de l’honnêteté budgétaire? Le cas de l’Australie, La Revue Parlementaire Canadienne, Vol 40, Issue 1
  • 2017
    Budget Offices, Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer International Publishing: New York.
  • 2017
    Legislative Oversight of the Bureaucracy , Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer International Publishing: New York.
  • 2017
    Public Value and Bureaucratic Rhetoric, Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer International Publishing: New York.
  • 2017
    The Presidentialisation Thesis and Parliamentary Budget Offices, Parliamentary Affairs, Vol 70, Issue 2
  • 2017
    Bitcoin Returns and the Monday Effect, Proceedings of the 14th Convibra Administração National Brazillian Conference
  • 2016
    The Idea of Legislative Budgeting in Iraq, International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies, Vol 10, Issue 1-2
  • 2016
    Young, Educated, and Underemployed: Are we building a nation of PhD-Baristas?, The Conversation Yearbook: 50 Standout Articles from Australia's Top Thinkers. Melbourne University Press.
  • 2016
    A Parliamentary Budget Office in Fiji: Scope and Possibility, Australiasian Parliamentary Review, Vol 31, Issue 2
  • 2013
    Le Canada et le Réseau mondial des directeurs parlementaires du budget, La Revue Parlementaire Canadienne, Vol 36, Issue 3
  • 2013
    Fostering a Community of Practice Among Parliamentary Budget Offices of the Commonwealth, The Parliamentarian Journal - Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Vol 2013, Issue 3
  • 2013
    Canada and the Global Network of Parliamentary Budget Officers, Canadian Parliamentary Review , Vol 36, Issue 3

Professional Memberships

  • President: International Association of Hyperpolyglots
  • Global Advisory Board Member: Economists Without Borders
  • Member: Association for Budgeting and Financial Management (USA)
  • Global Shaper: World Economic Forum (R)

Honours

"50 Standout Articles from Australia's Top Thinkers" (The Conversation, 2016) | Impact Success Story: The Conversation Annual Stakeholder Report (2016) | President, International Association of Hyperpolyglots (2016) | Full PhD Scholarship (UNSW, 2015) | Global Shaper (World Economic Forum, 2016) | Graduate Award in Governance (World Bank & McGill, 2013) | Research Impact: Two Citations by the Parliament of Canada (Bill C-476, 41, 2013)