Raja Khalidi is the director-general of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS). Trained as a development economist, he holds a BA (Hons) from Oxford University and an MSc from University of London (SOAS). He has conducted research and published and lectured widely on Palestinian economic conditions in Lebanon, the Arab region, Israel, and the occupied territories. He worked with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1985 to 2013 and as senior economist, he served as coordinator of its Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People, head of its Debt and Development Finance Branch, and chief of the office of the director of the Division of Globalization and Development Strategies.