Mustafa Graduated from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey and gained BSc in Electrical Engineering in 1987. He then started studying MSc in Economics at Bogazici and later joined Boston College (MA) in 1990, USA, to pursue his PhD. Completing his PhD, he worked at Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (MA, USA), Koc University (Istanbul, Turkey), University of Liverpool, University of Leicester. He took up a Chair in Economics at the University of Glasgow in 2005 and later joined the University of Sheffield as a Professor of Economics. Mustafa joined the School of Management and Languages in January 2013 as a Professor of Finance.

Mustafa's research interests lie in the areas of financial economics, international finance and applied macroeconomics. His recent research concentrates on firm investment and cash holding behaviour; international trade flows and exchange rate movements; corruption; the role of financial dept; bank lending; firm leverage and inventories; and price dynamics. See Mustafa's recent working papers (downloadable from RePec) for examples of research areas. Mustafa is interested in supervising PhD students in above areas.

Mustafa  has published several research articles in field and general journals including The American Economic Review, European Economic Review, Economic Inquiry, Economics Letters, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of International Money and Finance, Oxford Economic Papers, Southern Economic Journal, The Manchester School and The World Development