My name is Neil K. Shenai and I am a Ph.D. Candidate at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). My research interests include the political economy of financial crises and Sino-U.S. monetary relations.

In my doctoral dissertation, I hypothesize that the way in which financial market participants coded economic concepts had a causal, intervening effect on the formation of asset market imbalances in the U.S. economy from 2002-2008, and I use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to show this relationship. My primary readers are Dr. Charles Doran and Dr. Gordon Bodnar and my secondary readers include Dr. Matthias Matthijs (SAIS) and Dr. Mark Blyth (Brown University).

At SAIS, I lecture on international relations and international economics.

In Spring 2012, I served as a Visiting Scholar and lecturer at Nanjing University in Nanjing, China, where I researched China’s response to the global financial crisis and co-wrote a series of articles about Chinese leadership succession. In Fall 2012, I began an appointment at the SAIS Bologna Center in Bologna, Italy as a George H. Abernethy pre-doctoral researcher.

In addition to my academic work, I consult with the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies in Tbilisi, Georgia and RAND Corporation.

I am a senior advisor to ConnectCubed, a start-up that designs platforms for psychometric testing games for leading global companies.

In my free time, I publish commentary on the global economy and international affairs, and my work has been featured on CNN, Foreign Affairs, and The Huffington Post. I have been a repeat guest on BBC World Service Radio and Television, where I discuss topics like the G-20, the European sovereign debt crisis, and the rise of China.

My hobbies include foreign languages, minimalism, and the Buffalo Bills. I work with the Buffalo Fan Alliance to keep professional football in Western New York.

Before graduate school, I was a bond trader in New York City. I live in Bologna, Italy.