Emir Malikov is the Lee professor of economics in the UNLV Lee Business School. His research addresses a central question in economics: what makes some businesses more productive than others? He develops new statistical methods for measuring firm productivity and efficiency, and applies them to study how companies compete, how knowledge and technology diffuses across firms, and how external forces such as climate change and trade shape economic performance. His findings have direct bearing on regulatory design, industrial policy, and climate adaptation strategy across sectors ranging from manufacturing and banking to agriculture.

Professor Malikov has published over thirty peer-reviewed articles in high-impact economics and operations management journals, including the Review of Economics & Statistics, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Operations Management and Journal of Environmental Economics & Management. His productivity research has produced new tools for identifying biased technical change, allowing researchers to measure how technological progress may favor or disadvantage different inputs to production such as capital and labor. In a parallel line of work, he has developed methods to measure how knowledge transfers between firms through foreign direct investment and exporting, providing more credible evidence on the productivity benefits of globalization. A growing share of his recent research examines the economic costs of climate change, documenting how rising temperatures reduce worker productivity and crop yields unevenly across U.S. regions. 

He serves on editorial boards for two international journals, Journal of Productivity Analysis and Empirical Economics. Beyond his research, professor Malikov serves as graduate director for economics master's programs. He teaches graduate courses in advanced econometrics and business forecasting, and has supervised and mentored students at the doctoral, master's and undergraduate levels across multiple institutions.