His peer‐reviewed academic publications have appeared in the World Bank Economic Review, the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Public Choice, Kyklos, the Journal of Bioeconomics, and others. He has also contributed numerous book chapters to various edited volumes. Nowrasteh is the coauthor (with Benjamin Powell) of the book Wretched Refuse? The Political Economy of Immigration and Institutions (Cambridge University Press, 2020), which is the first book on how economic institutions in receiving countries adjust to immigration. Wretched Refuse? received “The Best Book in Austrian Economics” award from the Society for the Development of Austrian Economics in 2022.
He is a native of Southern California and received a BA in economics from George Mason University and an MS in economic history from the London School of Economics.