Almas Heshmati is a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

He held similar positions at Sogang University, Korea University, Seoul National University, University of Kurdistan Hawler, and the 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), where he held a Senior Researcher position until 1998.

In addition to more than 150 scientific journal articles, he has published 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 and Economic Growth.

His research interests include applied microeconomics, globalization, development strategy, efficiency, productivity, and growth with application to manufacturing and services. In recent years, his research has focused on development economics and growth in Africa.