Research

My research focuses on applied microeconomics, energy and environmental economics, political economy, and development economics. I examine how natural resources, energy markets, and technological change influence economic development, inequality, and public policy. My current research explores the economic and environmental implications of digitalization and artificial intelligence, energy transitions, and the distributional consequences of energy policies.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

• Mohtadi, S., Blankenship, B., Hasan, Q., Overland, I., Tsani, S., & Urpelainen, J. (2025). Gendered impacts of oil price shocks: Analyzing women’s labor force participation in petrostates. Energy Research & Social Science.

• Blankenship, B., Hasan, Q., Mohtadi, S., Overland, I., & Urpelainen, J. (2024). Oil Prices and International Conflict: Why Low Oil Revenue May Not Pacify Petrostates. International Interactions.

• Hasan, Q., Heffron, R. J., Mohtadi, S., Blankenship, B. D., Overland, I., & Urpelainen, J. (2024). Stepping into the Just Transition Journey: The Energy Transition in Petrostates. Energy Research & Social Science.

• Mohtadi, S. (2023). An empirical analysis on the relationship between resource rents and education: The role of institutional quality thresholds. International Review of Economics.

• Mohtadi, S. (2022). Natural Resources, Institutions and the Quality adjusted Human Capital. Journal of Economic Studies.

• Mohtadi, S., & Castells-Quintana, D. (2021). The distributional dimension of the resource curse: Commodity price shocks and income inequality. Structural Change and Economic Dynamics.

Book Chapters

• Mohtadi, S., & Farzanegan, M. R. (2026). Oil Rents and Educational Inequality: New Cross-Country Evidence. In G. A. Davis (Ed.), Elgar Companion on Inequality and Natural Resources. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Working Papers

• Digitalization and Decarbonization (with Gail J. Buttorff and Pablo M. Pinto).

• Energy Price Booms and Income Inequality in the United States (with David Castells-Quintana and Mohammad R. Farzanegan).

• ESG Stewardship, Gender, and the Energy Transition (with Gail J. Buttorff and Pablo M. Pinto).

• Petrostates’ Diversification Strategies in the Energy Transition (with Qaraman Hasan, Brian Blankenship, Indra Overland, and Johannes Urpelainen).

Research in Progress

• Data Centers and Electricity Demand in the United States

• Critical Minerals and Economic Transformations

• Gender, Oil Rents, and the Energy Transition in GCC countries

Selected Policy Reports

• Buttorff, G. J., Danilola, S. T., Granato, J., Miers, C. M., Mohtadi, S., Pérez Argüelles, M. P., Pinto, P. M., Sipole, S. L., Upchurch, G. P., Vallejo, A., & Wong, M. C. S. (2026). Houston’s Home Energy Challenge: Affordability, Efficiency, and Reliability. SPACE City Panel, Center for Public Policy, Hobby School of Public Affairs, University of Houston. CPP Report 14-2026.

• Buttorff, G. J., Danilola, S. T., Granato, J., Miers, C. M., Mohtadi, S., Pérez Argüelles, M. P., Pinto, P. M., Sipole, S. L., Upchurch, G. P., Vallejo, A., & Wong, M. C. S. (2026). Perceptions of AI and Data Centers: Impacts, Concerns, and the Water Nexus. SPACE City Panel, Center for Public Policy, Hobby School of Public Affairs, University of Houston. CPP Report 11-2026.

• Buttorff, G. J., Danilola, S. T., Granato, J., Miers, C. M., Mohtadi, S., Pérez Argüelles, M. P., Pinto, P. M., Sipole, S. L., Upchurch, G. P., Vallejo, A., & Wong, M. C. S. (2025). Understanding Household Energy Burden and Perceptions in Texas. Texas Trends Survey 2025, Hobby School of Public Affairs, University of Houston, and Barbara Jordan–Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, Texas Southern University.

• Buttorff, G. J., Danilola, S. T., Granato, J., Miers, C. M., Mohtadi, S., Pérez Argüelles, M. P., Pinto, P. M., Sipole, S. L., Upchurch, G. P., Vallejo, A., & Wong, M. C. S. (2025). Houston Cares about Climate Change: Policy Preferences and Partisan Gaps. SPACE City Panel, Center for Public Policy, Hobby School of Public Affairs, University of Houston. CPP Report 3-2025.

Other Publications

• Vallejo, A., Mohtadi, S., Pérez A., M. P., Pinto, P. M., & Upchurch, G. (2026). Origen cosmopolita del auge del fútbol profesional en Estados Unidos: popularidad, migración y la presencia de la MLS. Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica, 26(2), 58–64. [In Spanish.]