Business School

Economics Program

ANNUAL REPORT

2009

Economics Program

ANNUAL REPORT*

2009

Economics Program The University of Western Australia

Mailbag 251 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley WA 6009

Australia

http://www.business.uwa.edu.au

*This report was prepared by Ken Clements, Sarah Coakley and Sandra Pollock with valuable contributions from all other members of the Economics Group.

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................... 2

2. STAFF MEMBERS ...................................... ............................................... 3

3. EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH ............................... .................................... 12

4. SEMINAR SERIES.................................................................................... 15

5. PUBLIC LECTURE PROGRAM ............................. .................................. 17

6. AN INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON GOOD GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH ............................................................................. 20

7. THE PHD CONFERENCE IN ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS....... .......... 21

8. VISITORS ................................................................................................. 23

9. RESEARCH GRANTS .................................... .......................................... 25

10. TEACHING ............................................................................................... 27

11. PHD STUDENTS’ TOPICS ....................................................................... 29

12. HONOURS AND MASTERS STUDENTS’ TOPICS ............... .................. 30

13. PUBLICATIONS BY RECENT HONOURS, MASTERS AND PHD GRADUATES.......................................... .................................................. 31

14. PRIZES ..................................................................................................... 33

15. VARGOVIC MEMORIAL FUND......................... ....................................... 34

16. PUBLICATIONS BY STAFF.............................. ....................................... 35

17. DISCUSSION PAPERS ............................................................................ 39

18. SEMINAR AND CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS BY STAFF ...... ....... 41

19. OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES...................... .............................. 44

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1. Introduction

Several important events happened in Economics at the University of Western Australia during 2009. First, the area continued to attract a substantial number of outstanding students enrolled for the BEc, BCom, PhD and other degree programs. Moreover, enrolments were at record levels in some units, including the important first-year level where there were more than 1,400 students. All the indications are that this student interest in Economics will continue into the future. A second development was the arrival of four new staff members. Peter Robertson and Rod Tyers, from the University of NSW and ANU, respectively, came to UWA as Winthrop Professors of Economics. Anu Rammohan, from Sydney University, was appointed as a Level C (jointly with the School of Population and Public Health). Finally, Sam-Ho Lee was appointed as a Level B from the Korea Development Institute, Seoul. These new members of staff offer exciting new capabilities and opportunities in Economics. Third, staff enjoyed considerable success in winning outside research grants. New ARC Discovery grants were awarded to David Butler, Ken Clements, Anu Rammohan, Peter Robertson, Rod Tyers and Yanrui Wu. Additionally, substantial grants were won by Rod Tyers, from the Australia-Japan Foundation, and Anu Rammohan, from AusAID. This is an impressive outcome that builds on the discipline’s record in recent years. Fourth, two of the most prominent econometricians in the world made substantial visits to UWA: Sir David Hendry, from Oxford University, and Arnold Zellner, from the University of Chicago, visited to give lectures, meet with students and staff and provide advice on research. Both visits generated considerable interest from several areas of the University and provided stimulus to research and teaching. Finally, in January 2009, together with the rest of the Business School, Economics moved to a new building at the southern end of campus. The new premises are excellent in providing a productive work environment. Further details of these and other developments are given in the subsequent sections of this report.

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2. Staff Members

WINTHROP PROFESSORS K.W. Clements BEc-Hons MEc (Monash), PhD (Chicago), FASSA

Winthrop Professor Clements is a generalist economist with interests in international finance, monetary economics, index numbers and the economics of drugs. His research has been supported by a series of grants from the Australian Research Council and he has published recently in journals such as the Journal of Business, Journal of International Money and Finance, Economics Letters and International Statistical Review. He is on the Editorial Boards of Resources Policy, Economic Papers and the Australasian Journal of Economics Education. In 2009 he received Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. He currently holds a BHP Billiton Research Fellowship.

P.W. Miller BEc (UNE), MEc PhD (ANU), FASSA Winthrop Professor Miller’s primary research interest is labour market performance, particularly as it relates to educational attainment, gender and ethnic and racial origin. He has published extensively in both Australian and overseas journals, including Economic Record, American Economic Review, Canadian Journal of Economics, Economic Journal, Economica, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Labor Economics and Industrial and Labor Relations Review. His recent research includes “The Return to Schooling: Estimates from a sample of young Australian twins” (with Nick Martin and Charles Mulvey), which was published in a 2006 issue of Labour Economics, and The Economics of Language: International Analyses (with Barry R. Chiswick), published by Routledge in 2007. Professor Miller is currently an Australian Professorial Fellow. He is also the editor of the Economic Record.

P. Robertson MEc (UNE), PhD (Simon Fraser), BA Hons 1 (Otago) Winthrop Professor Robertson joined the Business school in July 2009 Prior to this he was an Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales and an Assistant Director at the Research Division of the former Productivity Commission. He was educated at the University of Otago, the University of New England and Simon Fraser University. He has established a research record in the fields of economic growth, international trade, and environmental economics. Peter’s current research interests are centred on interactions between economic growth and international trade, such as the effects of the growth of India and China on the international economy, the effects of international trade on human capital accumulation, and the impact of international flows of skilled labour. He has published widely in economics journals such as International Economic Review, Review of International Economics, Economics Letters, Oxford Economics Papers and Explorations in Economic History.

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D.A. Turkington BA (Wellington), MCom (Canterbury), MA PhD (Berkeley), FASSA Winthrop Professor Turkington specialises in theoretical econometrics. He has published in Journal of Econometrics, Journal of the American Statistical Association and International Economic Review, and is the co-author (with R. Bowden) of the Econometric Society Monograph, Instrumental Variables. Professor Turkington’s current research focuses on the application of matrix calculus to econometric models. He has written a book on this topic: Matrix Calculus and Zero-One Matrices: Statistical and econometric applications, published by Cambridge University Press, 2002. His most recent book is Mathematical Tools for Economics, published by Blackwell Publishing, 2007.

R. Tyers BEng (Melbourne), MEngSci (Melbourne), MS PhD (Harvard) Winthrop Professor Tyers specialises in applied international economics and he has contributed in areas of commodity trade policy, the labour market effects of trade reform, the economic effects of global demographic change and open economy macroeconomics as applied to Chinese economic policy and its international implications. He has published four books, more than 60 refereed journal articles and more than 40 chapters in edited books. Three of his articles have been republished with permission in subsequent books. One, prize-winning, article has been thus republished three times. His research has been supported by six Discovery grants from the Australian Research Council and research grants from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the Australian Council for International Agricultural Research, the World Bank and the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture. His teaching has ranged from introductory macroeconomics to advanced microeconomics and international trade theory.

PROFESSORS N. Groenewold BEc MEc (Tasmania), MA PhD (W. Ontario)

Professor Groenewold teaches in macroeconomics and international finance. His research interests include theoretical and applied macroeconomics, regional economics and financial economics. He has published in a number of journals including Journal of Macroeconomics, China Economic Review, Pacific Economic Review, Journal of Empirical Finance, Economics Letters, Economic Inquiry, Review of Regional Studies, and Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance. He is currently working on applications of regional models to issues in China and Australia with researchers at Jinan University and the University of Tasmania as well as on the decomposition of house price changes with colleagues at Curtin and Aberdeen.

Y. Wu BS (Anhui), MA (Nankai), MA (ANU), PhD (Adel.) Professor Wu is an economist specialising in development economics and applied econometrics. His research interests are the Chinese and Asian economies, economic growth and productivity analysis. He has published extensively in these fields. He is the author of Productive Performance in Chinese Enterprises (Macmillan, 1996), China’s Consumer Revolution

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(Edward Elgar, 1999), The Macroeconomics of East Asian Growth (Edward Elgar, 2002) and China’s Economic Growth (Curzon, 2004). Professor Wu is on the editorial board of China Economic Review (North-Holland) and Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies (Routledge). He is also the General Editor of Advances in Chinese Economic Studies Series (Edward Elgar). His teaching interests include econometrics, international economics and development economics.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS D.J. Butler BA MSc (York), PhD (W. Aust.)

Associate Professor Butler’s research interests focus on the application of experimental methods to the economic theory of individual choice and game theory. In particular he studies competing explanations for observed violations of expected utility theory and other choice theories, as well as the role of motivations such as reciprocity in behavioural game theory. Dr Butler has published in journals such as the American Economic Review, Economics Letters, Acta Psychologica, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Manchester School and Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. He spent 2002 to 2004 as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, University of Arizona.

P. Crompton BBus-Hons (Curtin), PhD (W. Aust.)

Associate Professor Crompton’s research interests include the econometric modelling of commodity markets, the relationship between metals demand and economic activity, and the world iron ore, steel and coal industries. He has published in Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Agricultural and Resources Quarterly, Resources Policy, Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Statistics and Applied Economics Letters. Dr Crompton has edited a book of Shann Memorial Lectures, Australian Macroeconomic Policy Debates: Contributions from the Shann Memorial Lectures (UWA Press). He is also principal author of Macroeconomics: A contemporary introduction (Thomson Learning, 3rd edition, 2004). He also regularly works as a consultant to several of Australia’s largest mining companies and is currently an examiner on the Tertiary Entrance Examination Panel for Economics.

A.T. Le BBus (Curtin), MEc PhD (W. Aust.) Associate Professor Le’s research interests include labour market outcomes of female migrants, educational attainment, unemployment, self-employment and labour market activities of ex-offenders. She has published in a range of journals, such as Industrial & Labor Relations Review, Applied Economics, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Economics of Education Review, Education Economics, International Migration Review, International Migration, Journal of International Migration & Integration, Journal of Economic Surveys, Economic Record, Australian Economic Review and Australian Economic Papers. Her current research includes labour force status of immigrant women.

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P.B. McLeod BEc PhD (Adel.) Associate Professor McLeod teaches in the area of microeconomics, including microeconomic theory, resource economics and public policy economics. His research interests cover various areas of applied microeconomics, including transport, housing, valuation and management of natural resources, production functions and productivity measurement, and competition policy. He has published articles in International Journal of Transport Economics, Transportation Research, Urban Studies, Environment and Planning, Journal of Economic Psychology, People and the Physical Environment, Accounting and Finance, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Environmental Management and Australian Transport Research Forum. Dr McLeod has acted as a consultant to several government departments and private firms, and has served on a number of Government Committees of Inquiry.

M.T. McLure BA (Murd.), Grad DipEd (WAIT), MEc (W. Aust.), PhD (Curtin) Associate Professor McLure’s research primarily focuses on the history of

economic ideas, with special reference to Italian contributions to economic theory. His current long-term research program is a comparative intellectual history of the second generation leaders from the Cambridge and Lausanne traditions in economics. Michael is the joint editor of the History of Economics Review, the author of two books, Pareto, Economics and Society and The Paretian School and Italian Fiscal Sociology, and his research has been published in Australian Economic Papers, the Cambridge Journal of Economics, the European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, the Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Pensiero Economico Italiano and the Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Economiche and Commerciali. He has also co-edited three multivolume collections in the Critical Assessments of Leading Economists series published by Routledge: Vilfredo Pareto (4 vols); Wassily Leontief (3 vols); and Paul A. Samuelson (3 vols). Prior to joining UWA, Michael prepared policy advice for the State Government as a Treasury officer.

A. Rammohan BA (Bangalore), MA (Simon Fraser) PhD (La Trobe)

Associate Professor Anu Rammohan joined UWA from the University of Sydney in July 2009. Her research analyses the intra-household distribution of health and education in developing countries, and its implications for the household’s children and the elderly. This research has led to her success in competitive grants from the Australian Research Council and AusAID, and collaborative research with international organisations such as IFPRI (USA), ICASEPS (Indonesia) and TISS (India). Her research has been influential in the Australian policy debate on child care and female employment choices, and was cited in the media and the Commonwealth Treasury and OECD report on childcare. Papers from her research have been published both in Australian policy journals such as the Australian Economic Papers and Australian Journal of Labour Economics, as well as in international journals such as Health Economics, Education Economics, Research in Labour Economics and Oxford Development Studies.

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M.A.B. Siddique BA-Hons MA MPhil (Rajshahi), DipResMeth (Dhaka),

DipResRurDev (Hawaii), PhD (W. Aust.) Associate Professor Siddique is a development economist. His research activities centre around some of the critical areas in contemporary development economics such as environment, corruption, good governance and international migration, with special focus on the Asia-Pacific region. He has published in international journals such as Environment International, Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, International Journal of Social Economics, South Asia, The Asia Pacific Economic Journal and Empirical Economics Letters. He has also authored and edited numerous books including Evolution of Land Grants and Labour Policy of Government: the Growth of the Tea Industry in Assam 1834-1940 (South Asian Publishers), Regionalism, Trade and Economic Development in the Asia-Pacific Region (Edward Elgar), Handbook of Sustainable Development Planning: Studies in Modelling and Decision Support (Edward Elgar) and Tourism and Economic Development (Ashgate). Associate Professor Siddique is the Director of the Trade, Migration and Development Research Centre Postgraduate Coordinator in Economics Discipline at the University of Western Australia.

S.H.K. Tang BA (Lethbridge), MA (Simon Fraser), PhD (Tasmania)

Associate Professor Tang’s main research interests are empirical growth models and development economics, particularly relating to the volatility of the growth rate, technical change and financial development in developing countries. His papers have been published in a range of international journals such as China Economic Review, Economic Inquiry, Economics Letters, Journal of Asian Economics, Journal of Economics, and Pacific Economic Review. He also has two book chapters and is the author of the book, The Chinese Stock Market: Efficiency, predictability and profitability (with N. Groenewold, Y. Wu and X. Fan), which was published by Edward Elgar, 2004.

E.J. Weber Lic oec publ (Zurich), MA PhD (Rochester)

Associate Professor Weber taught economics at the University of Zurich, the California State University and the University of Wellington, New Zealand, His research, which deals with macroeconomics and monetary history, has been published in Australian and international professional journals, including Explorations in Economic History, Economics Letters, Applied Economics, Kyklos, History of Economics Review, Journal of Australian Political Economy, Australian Journal of Labour Economics, Energy Economics and Resources Policy, among others. He wrote an entry on ‘Switzerland Before 1815’ for the Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History, and contributed chapters to books on the history of derivative security markets, the role of gold in the monetary system, and the issue of private bank notes before the emergence of central banking. His current research includes discussion papers on the history of bimetallism, the role of the real interest rate in U.S. macroeconomic history, and the economist Wilfred E.G. Salter.

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ASSISTANT PROFESSORS E.R. Birch BCom-Hons (Curtin), PhD (W. Aust.)

Assistant Professor Birch joined the Economics Program in 2007. Her research has been published in journals such as the Economic Record, Australian Economic Papers, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Australian Journal of Labour Economics and the Journal of Economic Studies. Her main research interests are labour economics and the economics of education. She completed her PhD, entitled The Determinants of Labour Supply and Fertility Behaviour: A study of Australian women, in April 2005. In 2006, Dr Birch, together with Paul Miller and Anh Tram Le, was awarded an ARC Discovery Project grant to research households’ allocation of time. This research is to be published in a book entitled Teamwork and Gender at Home (Palgrave McMillan Publishing).

S.H. Lee BA, MA (SNU), PhD (U. Penn)

Assistant Professor Lee is an applied microeconomic theorist, and his current research topics include cross-country differences in redistribution policies and cross-country differences university admission standards. Dr. Lee published his works in International Economic Review and Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. He just started his career at UWA in 2009 after 4 years of working at Korea Development Institute.

D.T. Tran BAE-Hons (UNE), PhD (Duke) Assistant Professor Tran started working at UWA from July, 2007, after graduating from the PhD program in economics at Duke University in May, 2007. His research interests include financial econometrics and empirical finance. Currently, he is working on stochastic volatility models applied to high frequency financial data and the relationship between volatility with other variables of trading activity.

A. Williams BEc-Hons PhD (W. Aust.).

Assistant Professor Williams’ teaching is focused in the core first-year microeconomic theory course, as well as modern British economic history. In 2007 he completed his PhD thesis on the links of the long-run relationship between governance and economic growth, and has had papers published in the Economics of Governance and the Journal of Development Economics. His current research interests are on the role of transparency in economic development, and the determinants of student academic performance at university (with Dr Elisa Birch).

LECTURERS B. Davis BEc-Hons (W. Aust)

Ben Davis completed Honours in 2008, worked for Economics in 2009 and has recently been employed by the ACCC in Canberra.

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I. Kristoffersen B.Bus-Hons, M.Bus (Edith Cowan U.) Ms Kristoffersen commenced her employment at UWA in January 2005. She has been involved in teaching a range of undergraduate units, and has recently been focusing on Quantitative Methods 1111. Inga was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008 in the category of Early Career Teacher. Her papers have been published in the International Journal of Business Studies, the Australian Accounting Review, Accounting, Accountability and Performance, and the Economic Record. She is currently exploring the role of happiness research in economics as the basis for a PhD.

HONORARY RESEARCH FELLOWS M.J. Davies BA (Kent), MA (Adel.)

Mr Davies’ major research interests are associated with the history of Australian mining. He has been Secretary/Treasurer of the Australian Mining History Association since 1994, and is Secretary of the International Mining History Congress. He has a number of publications that include papers in Australian Economic History Review, Comparative Studies in Society and History, Australian Historical Studies, Cornish Studies, The Great Circle, Journal of Australasian Mining History and the Journal of the Historical Society of South Australia. He has chapters in a number of books and has compiled a bibliography of the Mining History of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. For the past five years he has been editor of the Journal of Australasian Mining History.

HONORARY SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOWS R. Gabbay BSc MA (Tel Aviv), DrPolSc (Geneva)

Dr Gabbay specialises in contemporary Middle Eastern issues, energy and oil (with special emphasis on OPEC), development economics, tourism in Indian Ocean island states, and the role of culture in international marketing. He has published eighteen books and over 76 articles and monographs. Dr Gabbay is now working on his sixth volume of Australia and the Middle East 1945-2000: A socio-economic and political study. Dr Gabbay’s latest co-edited books are International Business and Cross Cultural Marketing: Contemporary research in selected countries, Academic Press International (API), 2004; Gabbay, R. Ogunmokun, G and Janelle, R (eds.), Business Across Borders in the 21st Century, Vol. 2 Academy of World Business, Marketing and Management Development and Pole Universitaire Leonard de Vinci, Paris, 2006, and Managing and Marketing Organizations in an Era of Global Complexity, Vol. 3, Academy of World Business, Marketing and Management Development, 2008, Gabbay, R., Ogunmokun, G and Janelle, R (eds.).

R.N. Ghosh MA (Delhi), PhD (Birmingham)

Dr Ghosh retired from the Economics Program in 1994, when he was appointed as Senior Honorary Research Fellow. He is a specialist in the history of economic thought. In recent years he has also published on

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topics relating to a wide range of development issues, such as good governance, corruption, gender issues, the environment, and the role of tourism in initiating development in LDCs. Dr Ghosh is the current chairman of the International Institute of Development Studies Australia. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal The Atlantic Journal of Development Studies (AJDS), published from New Delhi. He has recently published with Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, a South Asian edition of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.

OTHER ACADEMIC STAFF The Economics Program has benefited from the teaching assistance of the following: Selina Briody Tsun-Se Cheong Gariet Chow Liam Connolly Basil Doucas Lien Duong David Edgar Aunchisa Foo Xing Gao Brian Gidney Abdul Hakim David Halperin Andrew Hanna Sabrina Helmer Elizabeth Houghton

Jennifer Hughes Arvind Jegathesan Raza Khan Jakub Kielbasa Sasha Kofanova Jennifer Lee Ian Li Elise Marciano Heather McIntyre Shanaeya Mehta Simon Mongey Jamie Peterson Junxiang Pong John Roberts David Shackles

Christy Simon Nic Sin Nagulan Siritharan Ben Stephens Shirin Tafazzoli Clarence Tan Anthony Teh Alex Tharby Rahima Velagic Duc Vo Cassandra Winzar Ghialy Yap Nina Yiannopoulos Ruth Young

In addition, the following individuals have acted as Research and/or Administration Assistants to members of staff: Tsun-Se Cheong Mei-Hsiu Chen Dahai Fu Xing Gao Sasha Kofanova Ian Li

Stefan Mero Maxwell Maesepp Udita Mittal Simon Mongey Jiawei Si Christy Simon

Tom Simpson Emma Stefansson Clarence Tan Nina Yiannopoulos

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GENERAL STAFF The Economics Program has also benefited from the assistance of a small, highly professional administrative group: Team Manager: Helen Reidy Administration Officer: Sarah Coakley Administrative Assistants: Aya Kelly Helen Stephanou Paula Thien Anna Wiechecki Research Assistant: Simon Mongey Graduate Research Assistant: Derby Voon

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3. Examples of Research

Even with the relatively small number of academic staff, the Economics Discipline has a deep research expertise and an active research program. Its research ranges from the topic of individual human behaviour to national economic performance, from the methodology of economics to empirical testing, including experiments. To give a feel for the type of research carried out, the following describes several recent projects. Other sections of this report give information on research in the form of publications, research grants, and thesis topics, etc. EPIPHANY IN THE GAME OF 21 (Associate Professor DAV ID BUTLER with MARTIN DUFWENBERG and RAMYA SUNDARAM) Does performance in strategic settings depend on whether players realize that an optimal way to play is feasible? To answer this question, Professor Butler and his co-authors introduce a zero-sum game of perfect information, simple enough to allow computation of optimal play yet sufficiently complicated that most participants initially fail. This borderline solvability-by-humans makes it a suitable research tool for experimentally evaluating if play is affected by whether it dawns on a subject that an analytic solution may be possible. In the Game of 21 there are two players, call them White and Green, who take turns. White begins. He can choose either 1 or 2. Green observes this choice, then increments the “count” by adding one or two. That is, if White chooses 1 Green can follow up with 2 or 3; if White chooses 2 Green can follow up with 3 or 4. White then observes Green's choice, and again increments the count by adding one or two. The game continues with the players taking turns, the player who reaches 21 wins. One should choose 18 to be a player reaching 21, and choose 15 to reach 18, and so on. Therefore, the game can be won by the second player by always choosing a multiple of 3. However, this is not so easily inferred. To structure our examination of human insights in games, we introduce a second, but shorter game, the Game of 6, and study how playing 6 first facilitates learning to play optimally in 21. Professor Butler and his co-authors confirm that experience with 6 improves performance in 21 (according to a variety of measures). It also turns out that learning towards complete epiphany is gradual to some degree in most subjects. However, subjects exhibit a lot of associated heterogeneity. Applications of these findings include the facilitation of learning how to plan ahead when actions are needed today but the consequences are temporally distant. THE IMPACT OF A REDUCTION IN EXTERNAL DEBT ON ECONO MIC GROWTH: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE HIPC COUNTRIES (Associate Professor M. A. B. SIDDIQUE) Over the 1970s and 1980s, the external debt levels of poor countries rose to a level constituting a ‘debt crisis’. The main source of the supply of external debt was the emergence of the Eurodollar market resulting from the surplus revenue

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generated by the OPEC through significant increases in the price of oil between 1973 and 1979. Cheap ‘petrodollars’ were recycled to countries that needed external debt. Unfortunately, many of the countries failed to use the external debt wisely and prudently. If external debt is not used in income-generating and productive sectors, the ability of the debtor nations to repay the debt is significantly reduced. Available literature in this area suggests that various interrelated factors contributed to the rise in external debt, including macroeconomic policy, increases in the price of a number of primary commodities encouraging countries to borrow, low real interest rates, and a favourable world environment. Favourable conditions were short-lived and when they did change over the 1980s, heavily indebted countries experienced difficulty servicing their debt. In 1996, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in an attempt to ensure poor countries facing significant debt burdens could manage their debt levels. Through this research, Professor Siddique seeks to examine over the period 1972-2007 the relationship between external debt and economic performance among the HIPC. An empirical analysis is undertaken following the growth accounting approach, to examine the impact of a change in the external debt burden, measured by a debt-to-GDP ratio, on economic growth. A regression of 40 HIPC between 1970 and 2007 suggests a negative relationship between debt as a proportion of GDP and GDP itself. The estimated coefficient is –1.74, which is significant at all reasonable levels of significance implying that a 1 percent reduction in debt as a proportion of GDP would have increased the level of GDP by approximately 1.74 percent in the 40 HIPC over the period 1970 to 2007. This result has important policy implications as it suggests that a reduction of HIPC debt burden should increase their level of GDP. Studying the relationship among individual countries concurs broadly with this overall assessment. Amongst all 40 countries the coefficient of debt to GDP against GDP is negative, and in a large majority of these cases is significant too. STOCHASTIC VOLATILITY, LIQUIDITY, AND THE EFFECTIVE SPREAD (Assistant Professor DUY TRAN) Professor Tran's research paper studies and compares the dynamics of volatility and the effective spread in liquid versus relatively illiquid markets using the intraday stock return data. Active market participants such as day traders and market makers are interested in quantifying risk at a very short period, which is dealt with in this research by using intra day data. The effective spread is the difference between the observed transaction price and the implicit efficient price (price level representing the firms' fundamentals), and is important to evaluate the quality of the market. In this research, he directly models the observed fifteen minute price of several liquid and relatively illiquid individual stocks as the implicit efficient price plus the market microstructure (MM) noise. The model also provides us with a framework to conveniently answer several interesting questions. First, are the estimation results consistent with the intuition that the market quality of active stocks is higher than that of thinly traded stocks in terms of smaller effective spreads? Second, does the higher volatility of thinly traded stocks come from the implicit efficient price or from the

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MM noise, or both? Professor Tran finds that the two-factor SV models are good candidates for modeling the implicit efficient price. Meaningfully, the estimated variances of the MM noise suggest that the implied effective spreads have the same magnitudes as those of the observed data, providing justification for the inclusion of the MM noise term. The estimated effective spreads are close with those of the observed data, indicating that the model captures the first order serial autocorrelation of returns. Moreover, the higher volatility of relatively illiquid stocks is the outcome of the higher volatility of the implicit efficient price as well as the higher volatility of the MM noise.

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4. Seminar Series

In 2009, 20 speakers presented their research findings in the Economics Program Seminar Series, organised by Inga Kristoffersen, Nic Groenewold and Rod Tyers. Below is a list of speakers and their topics.

Date Speaker Title

6 March Carlos Carreria University of Cape Town

Modeling Financial Distress

13 March Patrick Rowland Curtin University

Portfolio Analysis with Housing Assets

3 April Elisa Birch UWA

The Impact of Peer-Assisted Study Sessions on Academic Performance

24 April Chris Leisham Glasgow University

The Role of the Multi-Level Model in Housing Submarket Research

1 May Peter Zweifel University of Zurich

Health Economics and Insurance

8 May

Adham Al Said UWA Inga Kristoffersen UWA

The Economic Integration of the GCC. How much convergence?

The Metrics Of Happiness Data

15 May Juerg Weber UWA

A Short History of Derivative Securities Markets

22 May Michael McLure UWA

History of thought: Pareto v. Pigou

31 July K. N. Bhatt GB Pant Social Science Institute

The Crisis in the Indian Agrarian Economy

7 August David Gruen Australian Treasury

The Global Financial Crisis and Implications for Macroeconomics and Finance

21 August

Kent Deng London School of Economics

Growth with declining living standards: the case of Maoism, 1949 - 1976.

28 August Anping Chen Jinan University and UWA

Reducing Regional Disparities in China: Is There a National Output Trade-off?

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4 September Heather Anderson Australian National University

Forecasting under Structural Break Uncertainty

18 September Peter Robertson UWA

Trade Costs and Skill Accumulation in China: Causes and International Impacts

25 September Mike Dockery Curtin University

The Cost of Children

2 October Bill Russell Dundee Phillips Curve

9 October Prasada Rao University of Queensland

Consistent Comparisons of Real Incomes across Time and Space under Non-homothetic Preferences

16 October Lisa Magnani University of New South Wales

Vertical Dis-Integration and Training: Evidence from an Australian Matched Employer-Employee Survey

23 October Bernardo da Vega Curtin University

Econometric Risk Modelling

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5. Public Lecture Program

The Economics Program presented two major public lectures during the academic year, the 2009 Shann Memorial Lecture and the Bateman Memorial Lecture. The first Shann Memorial Lecture was presented in 1961, and since then the Lecture has earned an enviable reputation for a high standard of scholarship, with the annual address making a substantial contribution to economic debate both inside and outside Western Australia. Details on the lecture program in 2009 are provided below. THE SHANN MEMORIAL LECTURE The annual Shann Memorial Lecture is held to commemorate the memory and vast achievements of the late Edward Owen Giblin Shann (1884-1935), the Foundation Professor of Economics and History at the University of Western Australia. The lecture is organised jointly by the UWA Business School and the West Australian Branch of the Economic Society of Australia. Professor Edward Shann was born April 1884 in Hobart, the youngest of four children. Despite severe financial difficulties during the 1890’s depression, Shann topped his class and graduated with first class honours in history and political economy. After further study and university employment, Shann eventually came to Perth in 1913 at the establishment of the University. He was Professor of History and Economics for over two decades (22 years), instilling social responsibility as well as significant intellectual rapport in students and staff alike. In 1935 Shann moved to the University of Adelaide where he served a brief period, before his premature death later that year. Previous speakers include those who have distinguished themselves both within Australia and overseas in their respective fields of study. Their efforts have helped ensure that the Shann lecture continues to retain its reputation as a premier public economics lecture as well as contributing to economic debate within the country. Past speakers include Dr H. C. Coombs, the former governor of the Commonwealth and Reserve Banks, the 1972 winner of the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences, Professor Sir John Hicks, the former chairman of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Ian Macfarlane, the former chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Allan Fels, Lieutenant General John Sanderson and Warwick McKibben, a leading world expert on greenhouse gas emission trading schemes and carbon taxes, among a wealth of others. At this year’s lecture, held on 19 August 2009, the lecturer was Mr Saul Eslake, the Director of the Productivity Growth research program at the Grattan Institute. Mr Eslake previously served as chief economist at the ANZ Bank for 14 years, as well as with National Mutual Funds Management before that. His presentation, entitled “The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2009 – An Australian Perspective”, covered aspects of the global financial crisis, the main policy responses from an international and Australian perspective and the challenges that Australia will face in its aftermath.

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Mr Eslake’s discussion of the recent economic crisis and how it has impacted on the Australian economy drew parallels between the financial crisis which preceded the Great Depression in the late 1920’s and the crisis of late. He detailed a number of similarities between the “bubbles” that eventually burst, including, among other factors; an extended period of loose monetary policy followed by that of somewhat rapid tightening, a substantial increase in leverage by institutions and households, a general relaxation of credit standards by lending institutions and a sustained effort by some financial bodies to thwart regulations pertaining to ‘capital adequacy’. Additionally, he noted that, especially in the US, there was a rise in pervasive expectations of continued asset price appreciation and a failure to comprehend the nature of the risks being borne or to properly measure and price them. Mr Eslake expressed his belief that the blame for the recent financial crisis cannot solely be borne by neo-liberal ideals or excessive greed, but rather a combination of factors, including serious economic policy mistakes, including the decision by many advanced economies to hold interest rates at record lows after the recession of 2001 and developing economies trying to prevent appreciations of their currencies. He additionally expressed relief that governments and central banks seemed to have learnt from the mistakes made in past financial crises in their implementation of policy and management of the most recent crisis. Turning to Australia’s response to the global financial crisis, Mr Eslake first described the downturn here as relatively mild compared to its impact on other economies, and compared to past recessions in Australia. Listing a number of factors that may have prevented such a drastic downturn in the economy he cautioned that further financial shock could not be ruled out. Nonetheless, reasons for the relatively mild impact here included a rise in exports of commodities as opposed to an emphasis on manufactured goods which saw exports for most other countries decline. Additionally, Australia seemed to have a comparatively more resilient residential property market compared to other countries and a significantly stronger, more prudentially managed and regulated banking system. The final reason is what Eslake described as for the most part, “well-timed, well-targeted and appropriately calibrated” policy responses made by Australian policy-makers. Mr Eslake concluded his talk with a possible taste of what could come, emphasising Australia’s need to continue drawing on lessons from the past and suggesting a redirection of stimulus funds to more long-term productive measures. His view was that productivity growth should take a forefront basis for the long-term prosperity of Australia. Mr Eslake’s paper was published in the journal Economic Papers, vol 28, issue 3, September 2009, pp. 226-238, excerpts were contained in the following two newspaper articles: Shanahan, D. (2009), “Recovery now, but it may cost us heavily later”, The Australian, 21 August; Eslake, S. (2009), “Policy at fault not political ideology”, The Australian, 22 August. Available from www.theaustralian.com.au.

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THE BATEMAN LECTURE David Hendry has been a prolific researcher. He has made significant contributions to econometric theory, computing in econometrics, econometric methodology, the history of econometric thought, model selection and forecasting. He has published by himself and with other authors, some 19 books and over 200 articles. He is amongst the most cited economists in the world. He has 8 honorary doctorates, several university medals and the Guy Medal of the Royal Statistical Society. He is a fellow of many academic bodies including the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the International Institute of Forecasters, the Journal of Econometrics (surely, not a Fellow!, the American Economic Association, the American Academy of Arts & Science, the British Academy and the Econometrics Society. Last year he was knighted for his services to social sciences. The University of Western Australia was fortunate in obtaining David as the 2009 Bateman Lecturer. The lecture he gave was entitled “Empirical Model Discovery” and it embodied Hendry’s latest research in model selection and forecasting. In it Professor Hendry re-interpreted model evaluation as discovering what is wrong, robust statistics as discovering which sub-sample is reliable, and model selection as discovering which model best matches the criteria. Automatic methods enable formulation, selection, estimation and evaluation on a scale well beyond the powers of human intellect, including when there are more candidate variables than observations. Hendry explained how major recent developments facilitated the discovery of models, despite the high dimensionality, non-linearity, inertia, endogeneity, evolution, and abrupt change characteristic of economic data that interact to make modelling so difficult in practice. Live computer illustrations using Autometrics showed the remarkable power and feasibility of the approach. The lecture was attended by some 200 people.

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6. An International Seminar on Good Governance and Economic Growth

THE TRADE, MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTR E The TMDRC is an advanced research centre located within the Business School at the University of Western Australia. It was initially established in 1987 as the Centre for Migration and Development Studies (CMDS) with the key aim of investigating the impact of migration on Australia’s socio-economic development and on the processes of socio-economic changes in developing countries. In 2003 CMDS was renamed as the Trade, Migration and Development Research Centre (TMDRC) with a new research focus in the areas of globalisation, trade, gender equality, tourism and development. In more recent years, the special focus of the Centre has been on Australia and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region. Its research activities emphasise both theoretical aspects and the application of results for policy purposes. The TMDRC is also an important forum for informed debate and professional discussion on development-related issues. Through its seminars and conferences on contemporary issues, the Centre brings together scholars, business leaders, senior public servants and policymakers from relevant areas and provides a forum for broad intellectual interaction. The Centre organised an international conference on “Corruption and Economic Growth” in June 2009 sponsored by AusAID and the UWA Business School. The principal aim of the conference was twofold (i) to examine the present stage of the literature dealing with ‘good governance’ generally, and more specifically, with crime, corruption and economic growth, and (ii) to focus attention on the regional experience in South Asia, South-East Asia and the South Pacific. The conference was attended by about 50 people from a number of countries, including the Commissioner of Police (Kolkata), Head of the Department of Economics, Gadjah Mada University (GMU), Indonesia, and the Auditor General for Western Australia. Selected papers presented at the conference will be published in a volume in 2011. Researchers associated with the TMDRC have published extensively in journals and numerous books dealing with migration, trade and developmental issues. Over the past years, the Centre has been successful in attracting research grants from organisations such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, International Monetary Fund, the International Migration Organisation, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the National Centre for Development Studies (NCDS), the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA) and the West Australian Government.

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7. The PhD Conference in Economics and Business

The PhD Conference in Economics and Business is an annual event that brings together students and academics from most Australian universities, as well as some overseas institutions. The basic objective of the conference is to help with the training of promising doctoral students by giving them the opportunity to gain feedback on and exposure for their research. It also enables PhD students to meet with their peers and to make contact with senior academics and researchers with similar interests. Additionally, it acts as an informal job market whereby students can demonstrate their abilities and attract attention to their prospects. The conference series is a joint venture between the Business School of the University of Western Australia and the Centre for Economic Policy Research at the Australian National University, as well as the Queensland Institute of Technology in some recent years. The location of the conference alternates between Canberra (in even years) and Perth (in odd years). One feature of the conference is the outstanding quality of the discussants’ comments. The student papers are circulated prior to the conference to discussants (usually senior scholars with extensive experience in supervision) who prepare written comments. Another interesting feature of the conference is the productive combination of research in both economics and finance. Table 1 lists prize winners at past conferences.1 The twenty-second PhD Conference was held at the new premises of the UWA Business School in November 2009 and involved 35 students and 35 discussants, who came from around Australia, New Zealand and the US. There were a number of extremely interesting papers and it was clear from the quality of the students (and discussants!) that the future of research in economics and finance is indeed exciting. Paul Frijters of the Queensland Institute of Technology presented a stimulating Invited Lecture on “The Cult of Theoi: Economic Uncertainty and Sacrifices”. Three prizes were determined by a secret ballot of all participants and the winners were:

• Best Student Presentation – Economics: Shared between - Shane Evans (Australian National University) Grace Gao (University of Western Australia) Stéphane Verani (University of California, Santa Barbara).

• Best Student Presentation – Finance Winner - Dane Etheridge (University of Western Australia) Runner up - André Levy (University of NSW).

• Best Discussant Winner - Doug Foster (Australian National University) Runner up - Renee Adams (University of Queensland)

Sandra Pollock was the Conference Coordinator and she did an outstanding job in dealing with all aspects of the arrangements and ensuring that the conference participants were well catered for. Sandra was assisted by Annie Walker, while Adham Al Said, Mei Hsiu Chen, Grace Gao and Ian Li ensured that the smart boards worked smartly and the sessions ran smoothly. The Conference Convenors were Professors Izan and Clements. The conference would not have been possible without the generous financial support of a number of sponsors.

For more details on the conference series, see Ye Qiang and K.W. Clements “Ten Years of the PhD Conference”, Economic Record (1999) 75, 301-12, K. W. Clements and P. Wang “Who Cites What?” Economic Record (2003) 79, 229-44, and K. W. Clements “The PhD Conference Reaches Adulthood” Economics Discussion Paper No 09.17, Business School (http://www.business.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/606488/09_17_Clements.pdf).

TABLE 1 PRIZES FOR STUDENTS AND DISCUSSANTS, PhD CONFERENCES, 2002-2008

Year Prize Winner Affiliation

2002 Best Presentation Kam, T.C.Y. University of Melbourne

Runner Up Best Presentation Fogarty, J. University of Western Australia Runner Up Best Presentation Thai, C. University of New South Wales Runner Up Best Discussant Kompas, T. Australian National University Best Discussant Gans, J. University of Melbourne

2003 Best Presentation Thorp, S. University of New South Wales Runner Up Best Presentation McHugh, Z. Queensland University of Technology Best Finance Presentation To, T. D. University of Technology, Sydney Best Finance Presentation Hall, J. University of Queensland Best Paper in Industrial Economics Kohpaiboon, A. Australian National University Best Paper in Industrial Economics Welch, E. Australian National University Best Discussant Bennett, J. Australian National University Runner Up Best Discussant Kingston, G. University of New South Wales Runner Up Best Discussant Martin, G. Monash University

2004 Best Presentation Wade, K. La Trobe University Runner Up Best Presentation Schlichting, D. University of Sydney Best Discussant Clements, K. University of Western Australia

Runner Up Best Discussant King, S. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission

Runner Up Best Discussant Dixon, P. Monash University

2005 Best Presentation Johnston, D. University of Melbourne Best Finance Presentation Forrester, D. University of New South Wales Best Economic Presentation Pacheco, G. University of Auckland Best Discussant Thorp, S. University of Technology Sydney

2006 Best Presentation Roessler, C. University of Melbourne Runner Up Best Presentation Headey, D. University of Queensland Best Discussant Leigh, A. Australian National University Runner Up Best Discussant Vahid, F. Australian National University

2007 Best Presentation (shared) Chen, Y. University of Melbourne Best Presentation (shared) Valencia, V. University of Melbourne Best Discussant Dixon, P. Monash University

2008 Best Presentation Rohde, N. University of Queensland Runner Up Best Presentation Nowak, S. Australian National University Best Discussant Clements, K. University of Western Australia

Note: No prizes were awarded before 1995

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8. Visitors

The Economics Program was pleased to welcome six official visitors during 2009. During their visits, they presented seminars and collaborated with members of the Program on research. Details on each visitor are provided below. A/Professor Anping Chen is an Associate Professor in the School of

Economics at Jinan University in Guangzhou, where he has been since 2006, prior to which he was at Xi’an Jiaotong University from which he received his PhD. At UWA, he visited Nic Groenewold in Economics from July to December 2009. For this visit he was supported by an Endeavour Award from the Australian Government. During his visit they worked on various projects, all of which focused on regional issues. Projects included one on the effect of policy on regional disparities in China, one on the relationship between regional disparities and national economic performance and one on the trade-off between economic inequality and growth in China. He also collaborated on a project with AJ Hagger of the University of Tasmania on the regional effects of the imposition of limits on carbon emissions.

Miaojie Yu is Assistant Professor of Economics at the China Center for

Economic Research at Beijing University. He completed his doctorate at the University of California at Davis in 2005 and subsequently joined China’s premier academic institution in economics. His research addresses determinants of trade policy and trade performance world-wide.

Professor Arnold Zellner is one of the pioneers in econometrics. Among other

innovations, he proposed the seemingly unrelated regression model, three-stage least squares (with H. Theil), and the structural econometric time series analysis approach, as well advocating the Bayesian approach to econometrics. He is the H. G. B. Alexander Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics and Statistics, Booth School of Business, The University. of Chicago. Professor Zellner founded the Journal of Econometrics (and continues to co-edit it) and the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics. He visited the UWA Business School for two weeks in September-October to advise on research and to present lectures.

Ms Chong Zhang was awarded a scholarship from the China Scholarship

Council (CSC) to undertake research training in Australia while doing her Masters degree in the University of International Business and Economics (Beijing, China). She visited UWA Business School for five months from February to June. During her visit, Ms Zhang worked with Dr Yihui Lan and Professor Yanrui Wu on a project entitled “Capital Flight from China”. Ms Zhang is currently working at the Personal Banking Department, Beijing Branch of the Bank of China, one of the big-four commercial banks in China.

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Professor Xiaohui Zhang is senior research fellow and director, Information

Division, Research Center for Rural Economy (RCRE), Ministry of Agriculture (MOA, People’s Republic of China. She is an expert on Chinese rural economy and has conducted many projects involving Chinese household data. She visited UWA Business School for two weeks during May. During her visit, Professor Zhang worked with Professor Yanrui Wu on a project entitled Farmer Exit and Its Determinants in China. She also advised several economics PhD students and exchanged with members of economics staff.

Professor Peter Zweifel is a Professor of Economics at the University of

Zurich. He is an expert in industrial organisation with a special interest in health economics and insurance economics. His research, which has been published in numerous books and articles, contributes to the understanding of the operation of health care markets and the formulation of health policies. He served as co-editor of the International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics and he was a member of the Swiss Competition Commission. During a six week sabbatical with the Economics Program, he taught the second part of the honours microeconomics course, covering risk and uncertainty and applying it to health insurance. He presented a research seminar on consumer preferences for health insurance, and he gave another two seminars on topics in health economics in the School for Population Health and at Curtin University. His paper on bank solvency has been included in the Economics Discussion Paper series.

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9. Research Grants

The Economics Program was highly successful in 2009 in obtaining research grants from several sources

Recipient Project Title Amount (p.a.)

Australian Research Council: New Discovery Grants

Dr. D Butler Investigating imprecision in preferences and its possible consequences for economics and economic choices

$35,719

Prof. K.W. Clements and Prof. R. Tyers

Commodity booms and busts: Implications for the Australian economy

$90,000

Dr. A. Rammohan, B. Pritchard and J. Bandaralage

Institutions for Food Security: Global Lessons from Rural India 2010-2013

$63,000

Prof. Y. Wu and Prof. D.V. Marinova

Energy efficiency, economic growth and the environment in China

$121,000

Australian Research Council: Continuing Discovery G rants Dr. A. Rammohan and Dr. E. Magnani

Ageing in a developing country and its effects on intra-household resource allocation 2008-2010

$56,333

Prof. P. Robertson and J. Madsen

Growth, Trade, and Economic Development in Asia

$68,000

Prof. R. Tyers, Prof. S. Dowrick and Prof. H. Anderson

Economic Growth and Real Exchange Rates

$104,666

Prof. R. Tyers, Prof. Tim Hatton, Dr S. Khoo, and Dr Q. Shi

Economic consequences for Australia of global demographic change

$50,000

Prof. R. Tyers and Prof. F. Menezes

Economy-wide consequences of regulation and privatisation in Australia

$5,000

Prof. P.W. Miller

Examining Overeducation and Undereducation in the Immigrant Labour Market: An international case study approach.

$209,878

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Recipient Project Title Amount (p.a.) Prof. P.W. Miller, Dr E. Birch and Dr A.T. Le

Wage Determination and the New Household Economics.

$84,938

Prof. K.W. Clements International Comparisons of Consumption, Incomes and Prices

$32,317

A/Prof. G. Kingston, A/Prof. H.J. Bateman, A/Prof. L.A. Fisher, Dr. S.J. Thorp and Prof. K.W. Clements

Security in Retirement: Forecasting and Managing Macro Investment Risks

$108,050

UWA Research Grants Dr. S-H Lee Cross-country Differences in

Redistribution Policy

$7,500

School Research Grants Dr. E. Birch and Dr. A. Williams

Understanding factors that influence students’ first-year experience at university

$9,613

Dr. S. Tang Innovative Activity and the Business Cycle: Micro Data Evidence for Australia

$7,240

Other Research Grants Dr. P. McLeod Socio Economic Evaluation of

Ecosystem Based Fishery Management

$138,993

Dr. A. Rammohan

Impact of decentralisation on public goods provision, participation and development in Indonesia

$131,000 (ADRA)

Prof. P. Robertson Trade Reforms in Indonesia: The Effects on Skill Formation, Wage Inequality and Economic Growth

$70,333 (ADRA)

Dr. A. Siddique An International Seminar on Good Governance and Economic Growth

$15,954 (AusAID)

Prof. R. Tyers and Prof. J. Corbett

Economic change in Japan: modelling the implications for Australia

$40,000 (Australia-Japan

Foundation)

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10. Teaching

Enrolments in several of the Economics Program’s key units remained large, with more than 1,500 students enrolled in Microeconomics, Prices and Markets 1101 over two semesters, and more than 800 in Macroeconomics, Money and Finance 1102. 11 other courses had enrolments in excess of 100 students, and a further six had 50 or more students. A list of units offered by the Program in 2009, together with course co-ordinators and enrolments, follows.

Unit Code Unit Name Semester Co-ordinator(s) Enrolmen ts

ECON1101 Microeconomics, Prices & Markets 1 Dr A. Williams 1155

ECON1101 Microeconomics, Prices & Markets

2 Dr A. Williams Dr A. Rammohan

478

ECON1102 Macroeconomics, Money & Finance 1 Dr P. Crompton 192

ECON1102 Macroeconomics, Money & Finance 2 Dr P. Crompton 611

ECON1105 Rise of The Global Economy 1 Dr P. Crompton 260

ECON1111 Quantitative Methods for Business & Economics 1 Ms I. Kristoffersen 437

ECON1111 Quantitative Methods for Business & Economics 2 Dr S. Tang 82

ECON1141 Australian Economic History 2 Dr M. McLure 70

ECON2203 Asia in the World Economy 1 Dr A.Siddique 148

ECON2204 Finance and Economics for Minerals and Energy 2

Dr P. Crompton Prof. R Da Silva Rosa A/Prof. A. Tarca

75

ECON2210 Monetary Economics 1 Prof K. Clements 241

ECON2233 Microeconomics: Policy & Applications

1 Dr P. McLeod 288

ECON2234 Macroeconomics: Policy & Applications 2 Dr S. Tang 271

ECON2235 International Trade 2 Prof P. Robertson 173

ECON2236 International Finance 1 A/Prof N. Groenewold 312

ECON2245 Business Economics 2 Dr D. Butler 129

ECON2260 ASEAN Economic Development 1 Dr A. Siddique 30

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Unit Code Unit Name Semester Co-ordinator(s) Enrolmen ts

ECON2270 Middle East Economies 1 Dr R. Gabbay 32

ECON2271 Business Econometrics 1 Prof Y. Wu 272

ECON2272 Mathematics for Economists 2 Dr J. Weber 97

ECON3310 History of Economic Ideas 2 Dr M. McLure 18

ECON3350 Money, Banking and Financial Markets 2 Prof R. Tyers 154

ECON3364 Microeconomic Theory 1 Dr P. McLeod 94

ECON3365 Macroeconomic Theory 2 Dr J. Weber 78

ECON3371 Econometrics 2 Prof D. Turkington 35

ECON3372 Mathematics for Economists 1 Prof D. Turkington 25

ECON7402 Microeconomic Theory 1 Dr S. Lee 7

ECON7405 Public Economics 2 Dr P. McLeod 9

ECON7408 Topics in Econ Development 2 Dr A. Siddique 11

ECON7413 Topics in Applied Econometrics

1 Dr D. Tran 8

ECON7415/ ECON8502 International Finance 2 Prof K. Clements 23

ECON7418 Macroeconomic Theory 2 A/Prof N. Groenewold Prof R. Tyers 12

ECON7450 Topics in International Economics 1 Prof Y. Wu 16

ECON7491 Microeconomic Theory (with ECON 3364) 1 Dr P. McLeod 11

ECON7492 Macroeconomic Theory & Application 2 Dr J. Weber 6

ECON7507 Topics in the History of Economic Ideas 2 Dr M. McLure 2

ECON8501 Resource Economics 2 Dr P. McLeod 3

ECON8513 Topics in Applied Econometrics

1 Dr D. Tran 1

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11. PhD Students’ Topics

The Economics Program had eleven students enrolled in the PhD program during 2009. Details on the students, their topics and arrangements for supervision were as follows:

A. Al-Said , Economic Aspects of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Integration, supervised by Associate Professor M.A.B. Siddique and Professor K.W. Clements.

M-H. Chen , The Economics of World Commodity Prices, supervised by Professor K.W. Clements.

T.S. Cheong , Inequality in Contemporary China, supervised by Professor Y. Wu.

J. Collins , The Evolution of Time Preference and its Impact on Economic Growth supervised by Associate Professor E.J. Weber and Mr Boris Baer (School of Animal Biology).

D. Fu, Exporting and Productivity Growth in China, supervised by Professor Y Wu.

X. Gao, Essays in International Economic Measurement, supervised by Professor K.W. Clements.

D. Hendrie , An Economic Evaluation of Healthway’s Sponsorship Program, supervised by Associate Professor P. McLeod and Mr M. Knuiman (Dept. of Public Health).

I. Kristoffersen , Happiness and Economics, supervised by Professor P.W. Miller.

I. Li , Issues and Trends in the Australian Higher Education Labour Market supervised by Professor P.W. Miller and Associate Professor A.T. Le.

W. Ren, The gender wage gap in China During 1989-2006 supervised by Professor P.W. Miller and Professor Y. Wu.

J. Si , Executive Compensation in the Public Sector: What can be learned from the Private Sector? supervised by Professor H. Izan and Professor K. Clements.

Syaifullah , Predicting the Economic Crisis in Indonesia supervised by Professor Y. Wu and Professor N. Groenewold.

H. Wibowo , Poverty and Inequality in Indonesia, supervised by Associate Professor M.A.B. Siddique and Professor Y. Wu.

F. Yu, Technological Progress and Its Determinants in China, supervised by Professor Y Wu.

The Economics Program was pleased to have the following students complete the PhD degree in 2009. A. Hakim , Modelling the Interactions across International Stock, Bond and

Foreign Exchange Markets, supervised by Professor D. Turkington.

F.A.L. Tan , Inter-Sectoral Labour Mobility in Korea: Its Origins and Relationship with Unemployment, supervised by Professor P.W. Miller.

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12. Honours and Masters Students’ Topics

The Economics Program had 13 students enrolled in the Honours, Masters and Postgraduate Diploma programs in 2009. Details on the students, their dissertation titles and arrangements for supervision are as follows: HONOURS STUDENTS

T. Chan, Stock Market Behaviour and Macroeconomic Performance, supervised by Rod Tyers.

Y. Cheang, Tear Down the Walls: Analysis of Solutions to the Liquidity Trap, supervised by Juerg Weber.

G. Cruise, Economics of Recycled Water Prices, supervised by Paul McLeod.

T. Devitt, The Political and Economic Forces Behind Protectionism, and the Role of Economic Thought, supervised by Michael McLure.

D. Halperin, The Macroeconomic Determinates of Metal Prices, supervised by Ken Clements.

W. Liu, Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis: Has it changed the Relationship between the Share Market and the Macroeconomy in Australia? supervised by Nic Groenewold.

J. Paterson, Commodity Prices, Stock Prices and the Exchange Rate for Australia during the Boom of the Noughties, supervised by Nic Groenewold.

C. Rowe, Consumer Sentiment Index. Examining its Usefulness as a Key Economic Indicator, supervised by Juerg Weber.

B. Stephens, The influence of selected characteristics on labour market outcomes amongst Indigenous Australians, supervised by Paul Miller.

E. Stefansson , Fiscal Expansions and the Real Exchange Rate: Empirical Evidence from Australia, supervised by Rod Tyers.

J. Tran , The Valuation of Non-Renewable Resources: The Case of Gold in Australia, supervised by Ken Clements (jointly with Prof. Izan).

S. Wang, External factors that affect share prices—an Australian approach, supervised by Nic Groenewold.

L. Zhang, The Effect of the Short Selling Ban on Financial Market Stability in Australia During the Global Financial Crisis in 2008/09, supervised by Juerg Weber.

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13. Publications by Recent Honours, Masters and PhD Graduates

The following publications emerged by research carried out at UWA by former students: Carter, L. Labour Market Responses to the Abolition of Compulsory

Superannuation, Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 8(4), December 2005, pp. 351-364.

Chan, G. (with Miller, P.W. and Tcha, M). Happiness in University Education,

International Review of Economics Education, 4(1), 2005, pp. 20-45. Chia, G . (with Miller, P.W.) Tertiary Performance, Field of Study and Graduate

Starting Salaries, Australian Economic Review, 41(1), March 2008, pp.15-31.

Fogarty, J . The Nature of the Demand for Alcohol: Understanding elasticity,

British Food Journal, 108, 2006, pp. 316-32. Knezevic, M . Estimating the Long-Term Costs of Diabetic Kidney Disease: An

economic approach, Applied Economics Letters, 2008. Lan, Y . (with Clements, K.W.) Exchange Rates, Productivity, Poverty and

Inequality, Applied Economics, 39, 2007, pp. 471-76. Soh, L . The Market for Australian Vice-Chancellors, Australian Journal of

Management, 32, 2007, pp. 29-55. Verikios, G . Understanding the World Wool Market: Trade, Productivity and

Growers’ Incomes, Australian Economic Papers, 46, 2007, pp. 88-107. Verikios, G . The Costs of Global Tariff Barriers on Wool Products: 1997–2005,

Agricultural Economics, 39, 2008, pp. 87-101. Verikios, G. Modelling the World Wool Market: A Hybrid Approach, Economic

Modelling, 26, 2009, pp. 418-431. Vo, D. Fiscal Decentralisation in Vietnam: Lessons for Selected Asian Nations,

Journal of Asia Pacific Economics, 14, 2009, pp. 399-419. Vo, D. Fiscal Decentralisation and Economic Growth, in The Chinese Economy:

Trade, Reforms, Corporate Governance and Regional Development, edited by Yanrui Wu, 2005, Perth: University of Western Australia Press.

Voon, D . (with Miller, P.W.) Undereducated and Overeducated in the Australian

Labour Market, Economic Record, 81(Special issue), September 2005, pp. 22-23.

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Win, R . (with Miller, P.W.) The Effects of Individual and School Factors on University Students’ Academic Performance, Australian Economic Review, 38(1), March 2005, pp. 1-18.

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14. Prizes

There are a number of prizes awarded to students in Economics and the Program is very grateful to the donors. The following is a list of prizes awarded in 2009.

Prize Awarded to

Australian Finance Conference Prize in Monetary Economics Monetary Economics 2210

Mr Aaron Walker

Dr Andrew M. Houston Memorial Prize in Economics Highest aggregate of marks in first year of BEc

Mr Blake Stove

Economic Society of Australia Honours Prize Best student completing the BEc with Honours

Mr Christopher Rowe

Economic Society of Australia (WA Branch) Prize BEc student with highest marks in Microeconomics 1101 and Macroeconomics1102

Mr Christopher Harvey

McGraw-Hill Prize BEc student with highest marks in Microeconomics 1101 and Macroeconomics 1102

Mr Blake Stove

Hartley Estate Prize Student with highest mark in Business Economics 2245

Mr Zach Cole

Pearson Education Australia Prize in International Finance Best student in International Finance 2236

Ms Elise Marciano

Pearson Education Australia Prize in International Trade Best students in International Trade 2235

Mr Nicholas Ainsworth and Ms Elise Marciano

Cengage Learning Prize Highest average mark in Microeconomic Theory 3364 and Macroeconomic Theory 3365

Mr Phillip Christopher

W E G Salter Memorial Prize in Economics BEc Student with highest aggregate marks in third year

Mr Maurice Doger De Speville

Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in WA Prize in Japanese Economic History. Highest mark in Japanese Economic History 2262.

Mr Andrew Fragomeli

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15151515.... Vargovic Memorial Fund

In 1956, the UWA Press published a book by Christopher A. Vargovic, entitled A Survey of Structural Changes in the Western Australian Economy: A statistical interpretation. Mr Vargovic wrote the following words in acknowledgement: “Without the financial assistance of the Research Fund of the University this study would have been impossible. I desire, therefore, to acknowledge the opportunity created in this way.” Against this background, Mr Vargovic left a generous bequest to the University to support research students in economics when he died in 1987. The interest earnings from the estate have been used over much of the past decade to assist students financially at Honours, Masters and PhD to complete their research by providing them with bursaries ranging from $2 000 to $6 000. The Economics Program, as well as the students involved, greatly values the generosity and foresight shown by Mr Vargovic in establishing this fund, which has had the effect of substantially boosting the Program’s ability to attract and nurture promising young researchers in economics. Mr Vargovic was born in Yugoslavia in 1920. Professor Alex Kerr, Vargovic’s mentor at UWA who is thanked very warmly in the Acknowledgements of his book, describes how he escaped from Yugoslavia after World War II by swimming across the sea to Trieste. He arrived penniless in Australia and went on to complete a BA with Honours at UWA in the early 1950s (prior to the introduction of the BEc). After finishing at UWA, Mr Vargovic worked as Economic Research Officer for a number of years at the WA Employers’ Federation, which later became the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA. Professor Kerr says that Mr Vargovic had a successful career built on perseverance and hard work, and was very fond of the University that he felt helped establish him in Australia. The Vargovic Fund financed bursaries to the following students from 2007 to 2009: 2007 2008 2009 Michael Bathgate Benjamin Davis Gavin Cruise Sarun Kunakool Callum Jones Dahai Fu Weijie Li Megan Garner James Paterson Emily Laing Alexandra Kofanova Emma Stefansson Maxwell Maesepp Kevin Lane Liming Zhang Nina Yiannopolous Maxwell Maesepp Stefan Mero Cassandra Winzar

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16. Publications by Staff

During 2009, staff of the Economics Program published work in a substantial number of books, journals, and as contributions to books. A list of these publications is presented below. BOOKS Birch E.R., Le A.T. and Miller P.W. (2009), Household Divisions of Labour:

Teamwork, Gender and Time, Palgrave MacMillan, United Kingdom. pp. i – xii, 1-251.

Clements K.W . and Zhao X. (2009), Economics and Marijuana: Consumption,

Pricing and Legalisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. i-xviii, 1-422.

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS Birch E. and Li I. (2009), ‘The impact of peer assisted study sessions on

tertiary academic performance’, in The Quantitative Analysis of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Business, Economics and Commerce: Forum Proceedings, Teaching and Learning Unit, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 53-77.

Chang J. and Tyers R. (2009), “Trade Reform, macroeconomic policy and sectoral labour movement in China”, Chapter 9 in C. Chen and R. Duncan (eds.), The Impact of WTO Accession and Regional Trade Arrangements on China’s Agricultural Sector and Food Security, Canberra: Asia Pacific Press, February pp. 268-304.

Duncan R., Rees L. and Tyers R. (2009), “Revisiting the economic costs of food self-sufficiency in China”, Chapter 7 in C. Chen and R. Duncan (eds.), The Impact of WTO Accession and Regional Trade Arrangements on China’s Agricultural Sector and Food Security, Canberra: Asia Pacific Press, February pp. 203-228.

Li I. and Miller P.W. (2009), “Academic Performance and Graduate Outcomes:

Does Age Matter”, in Edmondo Balistrieri and Giustino DeNino (eds.), New Research in Education: Adult, Medical and Vocational, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., pp.1-25.

Tyers R. and Rees L. (2009), “Trade reform in the short run: China’s WTO

accession”, Chapter 8 in C. Chen and R. Duncan (eds.), The Impact of WTO Accession and Regional Trade Arrangements on China’s Agricultural Sector and Food Security, Canberra: Asia Pacific Press, February pp. 229-267.

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Robertson P. (2009), “Productivity, innovation & Economic Growth”, Innovation Metrics Framework, Department of Innovation, Industry Science and Research, pp. 135-189.

Siddique M.A. (2009), “An Enduring Friendship: Western Australia and Japan

– Past, Present and Future”, Western Australia-Japan Mining Co-operation: An Historical Overview, Westerley Centre, University of Western Australia, Western Australia, pp 159-176.

Tyers R., Golley J. and Bain I. (2009), “Projected economic growth in China

and India: the role of demographic change”, Growth to Convergence: Asia’s Next Two Decades, Fan Zhai (ed.), Palgrave, Chapter 8 pp 211-243.

Weber E.J . (2009), “A Short History of Derivative Security Markets”, in Hafner,

W. and Zimmermann, H. (eds.) Vinzenz Bronzin's Option Pricing Models, Springer, Heidelberg, pp. 431 - 466.

Wu Y. (2009), “Capital Stock Estimates by Region and Sector”, Chunlai Chen

(ed) China’s Integration with the Global Economy: WTO Accession, Foreign Direct Investment and International Trade, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, Chapter 3, pp. 37-52.

Wu Y. (2009), “Regional Economic Growth, Disparity and Convergence: China

vs India”, in Competition between Large Developing Economies: China and India, Zhigang Yuan and Guanghua Wan (eds.), Fudan University Press, Shanghai.

JOURNAL ARTICLES Birch E., Li I., and Miller P.W. (2009), “The Influences of Institution Attended

and Field of Study on Graduates” Starting Salaries”, Australian Economic Review, Vol. 42, No. 1, March, pp.42-63.

Birch E. and Li, I. (2009), “The Impact of Peer Assisted Study Sessions on

Tertiary Academic Performance”, The Quantitative Analysis of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Business, Economics and Commerce Forum. pp.53-77.

Clements K.W ., Izan H.Y. and Lan Y. (2009), “A Stochastic Measure of

International Competitiveness.” International Review of Finance, Vol. 9 pp.51-81.

Clements K.W .,and Chan A., (2009), “The International Volatility of Growth.”

International Economics and Finance Journal, Vol 4. No 1. Clements K.W ., Lan Y. and Zhao X. (2009), “The Demand for Marijuana,

Tobacco and Alcohol: Inter-Commodity Interactions and Uncertainty”, Empirical Economics, DOI: 10.1007/s00181-009-0302-x.

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Chiswick B.R. and Miller P.W. (2009), “The International Transferability of Immigrants’ Human Capital”, Economics of Education Review, Vol. 28, No. 2, April, pp.162-169.

Chiswick B.R. and Miller P.W. (2009), “Earnings and Occupational Attainment

Among Immigrants”, Industrial Relations, Vol. 48, No. 3, July, pp.454-465.

Chua J. and Miller P.W . (2009), “The Impact of Immigrant Status on Home

Ownership in Australia”, International Migration, Vol. 47, No. 2, June, pp.155-192.

Lee S-H. (2009), “Jumping the Curse: Early Contracting with Private Information

in University Admissions.” International Economic Review, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp.1-38.

Lee S-H. (2009), “A Theory of Self-Selection in a Market with Matching

Frictions: An Application to Delay in Refereeing Times in Economics Journals.”, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 72, No. 1, pp.344-360.

Miller P.W . (2009), “The Gender Pay Gap in the US: Does Sector Make a

Difference?”, Journal of Labor Research, Vol. 30, No. 1, March, pp.52-75.

Rammohan A . and Dancer D. (2009), “Maternal Autonomy and Child Nutrition:

Evidence From Rural Nepal”, Indian Growth and Development Review, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp.18-38.

Rammohan A. and Magnani E. (2009), “Ageing and the Family in Indonesia:

An Exploration of the Effect of Elderly Care-Giving on Female Labour Supply”, Journal of Income Distribution, Vol 18, pp.110-130.

Rammohan A. and Jonar M. (2009), “The Determinants of Female Autonomy in

Indonesia”, Feminist Economics, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp 31-55. Robertson P . and Landon-Lane J. (2009), “Long-Run Growth in the OECD: A

Test of the Parallel Growth Paths Hypothesis”, Explorations in Economic History, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp.346-355.

Robertson P. and Landon-Lane J. (2009), “Factor Accumulation and Growth

Miracles in a Two-Sector Neoclassical Growth Model”, Manchester School, Vol. 77, No. 2, pp.153-170.

Robertson P . and Harris R.G. (2009), “Trade costs and the AUSFTA: Some

new dynamic considerations.” The Australian Economic Review, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp.435-452.

Robertson P. (2009), “The Biggest Loser: Education and Skilled Migration In

Australia”, Agenda, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp.85-95.

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Williams A. (2009), “On the release of information by governments: Causes and consequences”, Journal of Development Economics, Vol. 89, No. 1, pp.124-138.

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Weber E.J. (2009), “Pre-industrial Bimetallism: The Index Coin Hypothesis”,

M10 – Monetary Problems and Monetary Policies: the World Economy Before 1800, XVth World Economic History Congress, Utrecht.

Weber E.J. (2009), “Wilfred Edward Graham Salter: The Merits of a Classical

Economic Education”, Proceedings, Vol. 1, 22nd Conference of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia, University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, pp.239-274.

REFEREED ENCYCLOPAEDIA ENTRIES Electronic Publicati on BOOK REVIEW McLure M. (2009), “John S. Chipman (ed) Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di

Economia: Special Issue – Articles by Pareto”, History of Economics Review, No 50, Summer, pp.98-101.

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17. Discussion Papers

Research findings from the Economics Program were circulated in 2009 through the Economics Discussion Papers Series. These discussion papers are distributed to universities, government bodies and individuals throughout the world. The titles of the 2009 papers are listed below. Copies may be obtained from the Economics Program or via the Program web site at: http://www.business.uwa.edu.au/school/disciplines/economics/2009 No. Author(s) Title

09 01 Tram Le Entry Into University: Are the Children of Immigrants Disadvantaged?

09 02 Yanrui Wu China’s Capital Stock Series by Region and Sector

09 03 Mei-Hsiu Chen Understanding World Commodity Prices: Returns, Volatility and Diversification

09 04 Rahima Velagic UWA Discussion Papers in Economics: The First 650

09 05 Michael McLure Royalties for Regions: Accountability and Sustainability

09 06 Nic Groenewold Reducing Regional Disparities in China: An Evaluation of Alternative Policies

09 07 Nic Groenewold The Regional Economic Effects of Immigration

09 08 Ken Clements, Dongling Chen

Affluence and Food: A Simple Way to Infer Incomes

09 09 Ken Clements, Maxwell Maesepp

A Self-Reflective Inverse Demand System

09 10 Callum Jones Measuring Western Australian House Prices:Methods and Implications

09 11 Abu Siddique Western Australia-Japan Mining Co-operation: An Historical Overview

09 12 Juerg Weber Pre-industrial Bimetallism: The Index Coin Hypothesis

09 13 Michael McLure Pareto and Pigou on Ophelimity, Utility and Welfare: Implications for Public Finance

09 14 Juerg Weber Wilfred Edward Graham Salter: The Merits of a Classical Economic Education

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09 15 Rod Tyers, Ling Huang

Combating China’s Export Contraction: Fiscal Expansion or Accelerated Industrial Reform?

09 16 Peter Zweifel Is Regulating the Solvency of Banks Counter-productive?

09 17 Ken Clements The PhD Conference Reaches Adulthood

09 18 Michael McLure Thirty Years of Economics: UWA and the WA Branch of the Economic Society from 1963 to 1992

09 19 Peter Robertson Trade, Wages and Skill Accumulation in the Emerging Giants

09 20 Nic Groenewold, Jiangang Peng, Jie Cui, Fuyong Qin

Stock Prices and the Macro Economy in China

09 21 Nic Groenewold, Anping Chen

Regional Equality and National Development in China: Is There a Trade-Off?

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18. Seminar and Conference Presentations by Staff

Staff of the Economics Program made numerous presentations of their research during 2009. Below are details of these presentations. Assistant Professor Elisa Birch presented a paper entitled “The impact of

peer assisted study sessions on tertiary academic performance” with Ian Li at the Quantitative Analysis of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Forum, Melbourne, February 2009. She also presented with Dr Andrew Williams: “Do peer-to-peer learning programs improve the academic performance of poor-performing first year university students?” at the Teaching and Learning Colloquium, UWA in May and “The determinants of academic performance in first-year university economics: The importance of prior knowledge of economics?” at the 14th Australasian Teaching Economics Conference, Queensland University of Technology, in July.

Winthrop Professor Ken Clements presented “The Big Mac Index Two

Decades on” to the Economics Department Seminar at Monash University in May. He also presented “The Challenges in Explaining the Global Financial Crisis” at a UWA Business School Special Even for Teachers and Principals, April 2009; “Examining the Global Financial Crisis”, UWA Business School Open Day, May 2009; “Economists’ Perspectives on the Global Financial Crisis”, Seminar, Economic Society of Australia, WA Branch, June 2009; “Discovering Discovery Grants”, University of Adelaide, August 2009; and “The Global Financial Crisis”, UWA Open Day, August 2009.

Professor Nic Groenewold gave the following presentations in 2009:

“Reducing Regional Disparities in China: Evaluation of Alternative Policies”, ACESA annual conference, RMIT University; “Stock Prices and the Macroeconomy in China”, GEP Second China Conference, University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China; and “Regional Inequality and National Development in China: Is there a Trade-Off?”, Centre for China Economic Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai.

Associate Professor Michael McLure presented three papers in 2009:

“Royalties for Regions and the State’s Budget Papers” presented at Curtin Corner (John Curtin Institute for Public Policy seminar); “Pareto and Pigou on Ophelimity, Utility and Welfare: Implications for Public Finance” presented at the UWA Economics Seminar, and then at Bocconi University at a seminar convened jointly by the Ettore Bocconi Department of Economics and the Department of Institutional Analysis and Public Management; and in July, “Thirty Years of Economics: UWA and the WA Branch of the Economic Society from 1963 to 1992”, presented to the annual conference of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia, convened at the Fremantle Campus of the University of Notre Dame, Australia.

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Winthrop Professor Paul Miller presented “Educational Mismatch: Are High-Skilled Immigrants Really Working at High-Skilled Jobs and the Price They Pay if They Aren’t?” at the AEI High Skilled Immigration conference in the United States in May, and also as part of the Seminar Program at Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. In May he delivered “The ‘Negative’ Assimilation of Immigrants: A Special Case”, to the Department of Economics, Monash University, as part of their Seminar Program.

Associate Professor Anu Rammohan presented “Migration as a Response to

Intrahousehold Risk: Evidence from Indonesia”, at the Population Association of America Meetings, in Detroit, April 2009. In June she presented “India rising, but what about the health of children? Evidence from 3 rounds of NFHS data” (co-written with Maitra P. and Robitaille-Blanchet, M.) at the 5th Australian Development Economics Conference, Melbourne and in September “Knowledge, Attitudes and Likelihood of getting tested for HIV/AIDS in Ghana” (with Whelan, S.) at the Australian Health Economics Conference, in Hobart.

Winthrop Professor Peter Robertson presented “Trade, Skill and Wages in

the Emerging Giants”, Monash-Deakin Growth and Development Workshop, Melbourne, December 2009; “Trade, Skills and Wages in the Emerging Giants”, Australian Development Economics Workshop, Melbourne, June 2009 and as part of Monash University’s Seminar Programme in May; and “Trade Costs and Skill Accumulation In China: Causes and International Effects” as part of the UWA Seminar Programme as well as at ANU, at The Arndt-Corden Division of Economics of Trade and Development Seminar Series, 12 May 2009.

Associate Professor Abu Siddique chaired the Innovation and Education

session of the PhD Conference in Economics and Business, organised by the Economic Research Centre, Business School (UWA) and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (ANU) held at UWA, 4-6, November 2009.

Associate Professor Sam Tang presented “Foreign Direct Investment, Export

Concentration and Output Volatility: Evidence from China and the East Asian Economies”, at the All China Economics International Conference in Hong Kong, December 2009.

Winthrop Professor Rod Tyers presented seven seminars around Australia in

2009. To the UWA Business School, he presented “Modelling the global economy: recent and prospective applications” in February; “Regulation of Australia’s service oligopolies: economy-wide effects” twice, at the Australian National University and the University of Tasmania in March; “Combating China’s export contraction: fiscal expansion or accelerated industrial reform?” at Monash University in April; and in October presented “China’s exchange rate controversy: a heretical view” at the School of Business, Notre Dame University; and “Combating China’s export contraction: fiscal expansion or accelerated industrial reform?” at Curtin University’s School of Economics and Finance.

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Professor Yanrui Wu gave a keynote speech at the international conference on Globalization, Innovation and Urban-Regional Development (Shanghai, June) and the international conference on China and World Economy in Post Crisis Era (Nanjing, October). He also delivered seminar presentations at University of Science and Technology of China (November), Jinan University (December), and Zhongsan University (December). He also presented a paper at the international conference on Chinese Economic Growth in Regional and Global Context (Nanning, June) and the 21st Annual Conference of the Association for Chinese Economic Studies Australia (Melbourne, July).

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19. Other Professional Activities

Staff members of the Economics Program have been very active in various additional professional capacities. A selection of these activities follows. Assistant Professor Elisa Birch is a member of the Economic Society of

Australia. Dr Birch acted as a referee for a number of journals including the Australian Economic Review, the Australian Journal of Labour Economics and the Economic Inquiry. She was also a discussant at the Australian Labour Market Research Workshop.

Associate Professor David Butler is a member of the American Economic Association. Dr Butler also acted as a referee for a number of journals including the American Economic Review and the Economic Record.

Winthrop Professor Ken Clements was a member of the CPI Advisory Group, Australian Bureau of Statistics, and a Member of the Panel to choose the best paper presented at the Conference of Economists, 2009. He was also a member of the Review Panel, Department of Economics, Macquarie University, 2009.

Associate Professor Paul Crompton is the primary author of an introductory macroeconomics textbook, Macroeconomics: A contemporary introduction, published by Thomson Learning, and published in its third edition in 2006. Since its first release in 2002, over 10 000 copies have been sold, and it has been used in large undergraduate courses at The University of Western Australia, Curtin University, the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney and the University of New England. Furthermore it has been used in postgraduate courses at the University of Queensland.

Mr Mel Davies was re-elected as Secretary/Treasurer of the Australian Mining

History Association in 2008, having filled those positions since 1994. He is also responsible for producing a quarterly newsletter and organising Annual Association Conferences, the most recent being held in Lithgow NSW, in October 2009. He is editor of the Journal of Australasian Mining History, and has just completed the sixth volume. In the international sphere, he was a member of both the Program and Organising Committees for the 7th International Mining History Congress at Bhubaneswar, India, in December 2007, where he was re-elected at the Business Meeting to serve as Secretary and coordinator of the 2009 Congress, held in Redruth, Cornwall in June 2009.

Dr Robin Ghosh is Editor-in-Chief of a quarterly journal entitled the Atlantic

Journal of Development Studies published from New Delhi. He is also on the Editorial Board of two other journals, the International Journal of Development Issues published from Sydney University, and the Atlantic Journal of World Affairs published by Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. Robin Ghosh is also the current chairman of the Institute of Development Studies (Australia).

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Professor Nic Groenewold was a referee for the Review of Regional Studies, the International Review of Economics and Finance, the Journal of Macroeconomics, World Development, the Australian Economic Review, the Economic Record, Papers in Regional Science, Emerging Markets, Finance and Trade and the British Accounting Review. He was also a member of the editorial board for the Economic Record.

Ms Inga Kristoffersen is a PhD candidate at UWA, researching well-being,

satisfaction and happiness, and economics. She teaches first-year mathematics as well as a range of other undergraduate units. Her earlier papers have been published in the International Journal of Business Studies, the Australian Accounting Review, and Accounting, Accountability and Performance. She has acted as a referee for the Economic Record.

Associate Professor Tram Le is a Research Associate with the Centre for

Labour Market Research. Associate Professor Michael McLure is editor (with Gregory Moore) of the

History of Economics Review, the journal of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia and served as a referee for History of Political Economy and Public Policy. Michael is also a member of the Board for the Centre for Labour Market Research. Within the UWA Business School, Michael is a member of the Faculty Board and of the Teaching and Learning Committee.

Associate Professor Paul McLeod acted as a referee for the Australian

Journal of Agriculture and Resource Economics and as an assessor for research grant project outcomes for the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Membership of Node 4.5 (Socioeconomics) of the Western Australian Marine Sciences Institute. Dr McLeod was also a member of the Economics Panel of the Economic Regulation Authority. He participated as a member of the expert research panel in the FRDC’s Delphi study to determine future research funding priorities.

Winthrop Professor Paul Miller continued both as Editor of the Economic Record during 2008 and on the Editorial Board of the Australian Journal of Labour Economics. Paul is a member of the Academic Reference Panel for the Treasury’s Participation Modelling Project.

Associate Professor Anu Rammohan is a member on the Panel of Expert

Referees for UK’s NHS R&D, Health Technology Assessment Programme. She is also a member of the AusAID-sponsored Australian Development Economics Secretariat. In 2009, she refereed manuscripts for Journal of Development Studies, European Journal of Health Economics, Economic Record, Australian Journal of Labour Economics, Applied Economics, Education Economics, Routledge books and AusAID’s Australian Development Research Awards.

Winthrop Professor Peter Robertson is Consultant for the Department of

Innovation, Industry Science and Research, Innovation Metrics Framework, 2009.

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Associate Professor Abu Siddique is a member of AusAID’s Joint Selection Team (JST) for its ADS and APS postgraduate scholarships. He is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Business Studies, Vice-President of Bengali Music and Cultural Centre, State (WA) co-ordinator of Transparency International Australia, and member, Association of the Study of Australasia in Asia (ASAA). He also is Postgraduate Co-ordinator in Economics and is member of a number of bodies within the UWA Business School such as the Faculty Board and the Higher Degree by Research Committee. He is also involved in various national and international organisations, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Austrade, AusAID, the United Nations, and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). He is a frequent contributor to local, national and international seminars and conferences.

Associate Professor Sam Tang reviewed manuscripts for Australian

Economic Papers and Economic Record. Winthrop Professor Rod Tyers offered a one-week intensive course in

Modelling the Open Economy to the staff of the Australian Treasury in Canberra in November.

Associate Professor Juerg Weber serves as the Honorary Consul for

Switzerland in Western Australia. Professor Yanrui Wu visited the East Asian Institute of National University of

Singapore, School of Management of University of Science and Technology of China, and College of Economics of Jinan University. He also attended the 9th China Economics Annual Conference in December. He acted as an anonymous referee for several international journals (China: An international Journal, China Economic Review, Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Resources Policy, Economic Record and Energy Policy). He was a reader for the ARC Discovery Grant applications.