author - oman observer

Imagine waking up one morning and trying to access your digital banking application to transfer money to your son, daughter, or a merchant. You enter your password, but access is denied. You try...

“How would you see political economy?” a friend asked me. The question sounded simple, yet I was not entirely sure what he expected from me. I asked him for clarification. For nearly fifteen...

Capitalism has given modern society three familiar economic identities: the poor, the middle class, and the rich. These classifications are not merely descriptions of income; they represent different...

This planet is not only for you. Nature does not belong to you alone, nor does the universe exist merely to serve your ambitions. I, too, have the right to live. I, too, have the right to breathe, to...

During my recent interactions with several Omani entrepreneurs who have just entered the world of business, I discovered something more interesting than their business plans or financial ambitions. I...

I am not sure whether you are a politician, an economist, or simply an ordinary person like me watching the world and wondering why some nations become richer while others continue struggling with...

Were we taught history incorrectly, or were we taught only one side of it? This question returns whenever I read about Vladimir Lenin, Dr. Che Guevara and other controversial figures of the past. We...

Foreign trade is not simply about ships carrying goods from one country to another, nor is it merely about exports, imports, tariffs and exchange rates. It is about how nations use their resources,...

How long have you been working for your organization? Five years? Ten years? Twenty-five years? Now ask yourself a more uncomfortable question: is your job really protected? Who protects you as an...

Mohammed Anwar Al Balushi Whenever I write about economics, a few words repeatedly come to my mind: capitalism, socialism, poverty, the middle class, wealth and inequality. These are not merely...

Don’t you think economics should serve people rather than power? If not, why do we study economics, teach economics and practice economics? There is something strange about the relationship between...

The idea for this article came to me during an evening conversation with two professors with whom I used to work as a lecturer at the same college. I still remember that evening vividly. We were...

There are moments in life when an old photograph is no longer just a photograph. It becomes a doorway. A forgotten memory quietly opens and suddenly the years disappear. We are no longer standing in...

Progress, poverty and crime: When economics enters court Where does crime begin? Does it begin in the mind of the criminal, in the desperation of poverty, in the temptation created by wealth, or...

This topic came to my mind quite unexpectedly one quiet evening at home. I turned to my wife and said, 'Shall we watch an English movie tonight?' She smiled and asked, 'Which one?'...

There is a silent question that walks through every city, every village, and every economy. It is a question that statistics alone cannot answer. Why do some families wake up every morning with...

"Tell me," I asked a friend over coffee, "is artificial intelligence merely a tool, or has it become an economic agent?" He smiled. "Does it really matter?" he asked. "It matters," I replied. "Because...

It was June 2007 and I was working as a corporate loan auditor at Oman International Bank. My desk was buried under files and I was deeply engaged in reviewing one of the bank’s corporate lending...

Whenever the history of economics is discussed, one name almost automatically appears: Adam Smith. Students across the world are taught that Smith is the "Father of Economics," and his famous book,...

Books have a remarkable ability to challenge our assumptions and force us to examine the world from different perspectives. Active readers do not simply consume ideas; they question them, debate them,...