Dr. Alexander Wollenberg is Assistant Professor at the Department of Management Science ad Engineering at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi. He obtained his PhD from National University of Singapore in 2011 specialising in innovation-based productivity growth of high-tech companies in emerging economies and a Master of Arts in International Relations from Waseda University in Tokyo focusing on technology transfer of Japanese companies. In addition to being a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of IGI Global Publishing and technical committee of International Economics Development and Research Center, Alexander has held appointments in academia and consulting in the UAE, Indonesia, Singapore, Colombia, México, and the West Indies. His research interests include economic integration, sustainable logistics performance, renewable energy policies and value chains in emerging economies.
Renewable Energies, Energy Mix, and Their Effects on Economic Growth in GCC Countries
The project investigates economic growth, logistics performance, and value chains as a result of the deployment of production capacities of renewable energies in the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Due to the high level of integration across the GCC and commitments to economic diversification by member countries, logistics performance and value chains are an important factor for GCC countries whose economies will become more manufacturing, knowledge, and service-based as economies diversify which require complex value chains. For the two largest economies in the GCC - Saudi Arabia and the UAE – my research has observed significant increases in the production of various types of renewable energies (energy mix), with the UAE having led by a wide margin in both absolute and population-adjusted terms. For other countries in the GCC, initial results suggest challenges in effects on economies from a higher share of production of renewable energies in the energy mix.
