UMass Boston

Adugna Lemi, Associate Professor, Economics

Adugna Lemi

Department:
The McCormack School
Title:
Interim Director, MGS
Location:
Wheatley Hall Floor 02

Area of Expertise

International Trade and Finance, Multinational Corporations, Development Economics, International Political Economy, Poverty and Income Dynamics

Degrees

PhD, Western Michigan University

Professional Publications & Contributions

  • Lemi, A. and Ian Wright. (2018). “Exports, Foreign Ownership and Firm-level Efficiency in Ethiopia and Kenya: An Application of Stochastic Frontier Model,” Empirical Economics https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-018-1521-9
  • Lemi, A. (2017). Aid for trade and Africa's trade performance: Evidence from bilateral trade flows with China and OECD countries. Journal of African Trade, 4(1-2), 37-60.
  • Lemi, A. (2017) Anatomy of Foreign Aid to Ethiopia: 1960-2014. In Evelyn Wamboye and Esubalew Tiruneh (eds.) Foreign Capital Flows and Economic Development in Africa: BRICS’ versus OECD’s Impact. New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Lemi, A. (2016). Trade Measures of OECD Countries and the Decline in Exports of Less Developed Countries: Is Murky Protectionism Responsible?. Journal of Global Economics, 4(1), 1-9 (9 pages)
  • Adugna Lemi. (2013) Multilateral agreements and trade in education services: implications for Ethiopia. International Journal of Education Economics and Development, 4(3), 255-277, 2013.
  • Adugna Lemi. (2012) Trade Liberalization and Change in Poverty Status in Rural Ethiopia: What are the Links? International Economic Journal, Volume 26, Issue 4, 609-633, 2012.
  • Adugna Lemi. Internationalization of R&D – implications for Russia. Baltic Rim Economies, Quarterly Review, Issue no. 5, 2011.
  • Adugna Lemi. “Do official development aid and foreign direct investment promote good governance in Africa? In Derrick M. Nault and Shawn L. England (ed.). Globalization and Human Rights in the Developing World. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
  • Adugna Lemi. “Internationalization of R&D: Industry-Level Analysis of US Multinational Firms’ Affiliates in Developing and Developed Countries,” Transnational Corporations Journal, vol. 19. issue 1, 2010.
  • Adugna Lemi. “Determinants of Income Diversification in Rural Ethiopia: Evidence from Panel Data,” Ethiopian Journal of Economics, vol. xvii, no. 1, April 2009.
  • Adugna Lemi and Sisay Asefa. “Differential Impacts of Economic Volatility and Governance on Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing Foreign Direct Investments: The Case of U.S. Multinationals in Africa,” Eastern Economic Journal, vol. 35, issue 3, Summer 2009, pp. 367-395.
  • Adugna Lemi. “Determinants of Sales Destinations of U.S. Multinational Firms’ Affiliates in Developing Countries,” International Trade Journal, vol. 20, no. 3, Fall 2006, pp. 265-305.
  • Adugna Lemi. “Rainfall Probability and Agricultural Yield in Ethiopia,” Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, vol. xxi, no. 1, January, 2005, pp. 57-96.
  • Adugna Lemi. “Foreign Direct Investment, Host Country Productivity and Export: The Case of U.S. and Japanese Multinational Affiliates,” Journal of Economic Development, vol. 29, no., 1, 2004, pp. 163-188.
  • Tesfaye Teklu and Adugna Lemi. “Factors Affecting Entry and Intensity in Informal Rental Land Markets in Southern Ethiopian Highlands,” Agricultural Economics, vol. 30, issue 2, March 2004, pp. 117-128.
  • Adugna Lemi and Sisay Asefa. “Foreign Direct Investment and Uncertainty: Empirical Evidence from Africa,” African Finance Journal, vol. 5, 2003, pp. 36-67.
  • Sisay Asefa and Adugna Lemi. "Challenges to African Regional Integration in the Global Economy: Implications for Ethiopia," Journal of Global Awareness, vol. 4, Spring 2003.

Additional Information

Since Fall of 2015, Professor Lemi has been serving as a Chair of the Department. In addition to managing the day-to-day activities of the department, Professor Lemi has been teaching courses in International Trade as well as Political Economy of Development in Africa. On research front, currently Professor Lemi is working on three research projects titled “Chinese firms in Africa: Evidence from a unique Chinese firm level data,” “Trade and climate change as determinants of changes in cropping pattern in Africa,” and “Trade mis-invoicing and capital flight from Ethiopia.”

Professor Adugna Lemi has joined the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2004 as an assistant professor. Prior to joining UMass Boston, Professor Lemi was an assistant professor at Winona State University in Minnesota. He has been teaching courses in Economic Development, International Trade, Applied Microeconomics, Multinational Corporations, and International Political Economy, Political Economy of Development in Africa both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Professor Lemi has also taught a special topics course “The real relationship between the poor and the rich countries” in the Honors Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Between Summer 2007 and Summer 2011, Professor Lemi has been a visiting professor/consultant at Addis Ababa University (AAU), Ethiopia, during the summer months. At AAU, Lemi has taught a course in “Trade Policy and Trade Data Analysis” mostly for government employees to help build the capacity of the country in trade negotiations. Since 2011, Professor Lemi has been a visiting lecturer/consultant at the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) in Nairobi, Kenya where he works with PhD students from various African Universities on their PhD thesis proposals and offer s seminar on International Trade topics. This summer Professor Lemi will travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Nairobi, Kenya to continue working with graduate students in these various universities and research center.

Professor Lemi’s research interests have focused on economic development in Africa, capital flow and its determinants in developing countries, multinational corporations and their role in developing countries, as well as on issues of poverty, trade, and income diversification in Ethiopia. Professor Lemi’s works have been published in academic journals including, Empirical Economics, African Trade Journal, International Journal of Education Economics and Development, Eastern Economic Journal, International Trade Journal, Journal of Agricultural Economics, Transnational Corporations Journal, African Finance Journal, Journal of Economic Development, and International Journal of Education Economics and Development, among others. 

View Professor Lemi's curriculum vitae.