Dr. Mohammed Abu Ali, Chair of the Department of Accounting and Finance and Assistant Professor of Economics, was honored at the Dubai Economic Research Award (DERA) ceremony on February 25, 2008, by the Department of Economic Development (DED), for his role as an external reviewer of papers submitted to the DERA competition. This entailed a double-blind review of the methodology, theoretical framework, presentation, policy recommendations and potential policy impact of the papers which he reviewed.