Biography

I have been at The University of Western Australia since 1981 as a Professor of Economics, BHP Billiton Research Fellow, Emeritus Professor and Senior Honorary Research Fellow. I have research expertise in international economics, monetary economics and applied microeconomics. My research has been supported by a series of grants from the Australian Research Council, BHP Billiton and other sources. My work has been published the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, European Economic Review, International Economic Review, Journal of Business, Journal of International Economics, Journal of International Money and Finance, etc. Cambridge University Press has published two of my books, Economics and Marijuana (with X. Zhao, 2009) and Currencies, Commodities and Consumption (2013).

In 2018 I received the Austin Holmes Award from the WA Branch of the Economic Society of Australia for contributions to the profession. I am a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia; received a Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council; and served as a Member of the ERA 2015 Economics and Commerce Research Evaluation Committee, Australia Research Council.

In 1987 I foundered the PhD Conference in Economics and Business. This is now a partnership between ANU, Melbourne, Monash, UNSW, UQ and UWA, is held annually and has attracted more than 900 PhD students from a large number of universities in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. This has been of substantial assistance to students with their research and future careers.

I have supervised numerous research students working in international finance, monetary economics, resource economics, international consumption patterns, exchange-rate economics, etc.

Education

PhD (in Economics), The University of Chicago, 1977

Master of Economics, Monash University, 1974

Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours), Monash University, 1973

Research Grants

“Analysing Global Consumption Patterns with a Large Number of Goods”, ARC Discovery Project, 2013-15, $263,000.

“Commodity Booms and Busts - Implications for the Australian Economy”, ARC Discovery Project, 2010-12, $270,000 (with R. Tyers).

“Security in Retirement: Forecasting and Managing Macro Investment Risks”, ARC Discovery Project, 2008-10, $328,000 (with G. H. Kingston, H. Batemen, L. A. Fisher and S. Thorp).

“International Comparisons of Consumption, Incomes and Prices”, ARC Discovery Project, 2007-09, $182,000.

“Risk Management for Bonds, Currencies and Commodities”, ARC Discovery Project, 2005-07, $240,000 (with G. H. Kingston, H. Batemen, L. A. Fisher, M. Sherris and S. Thorp).

“Commodity Prices and Exchange Rates”, University of Chicago, 2005, $26,000.

“Exchange Rates and Commodity Prices in a Volatile Business Environment”, ARC Linkage Project; ACIL Tasman, AngloGold Australia and the WA Department of Industry and Resources, the industry partners, 2004-07, $142,000.

“International Comparison of Food Consumption Patterns”, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ACIAR, 2003, $22,000 (with Y. Wu).

“Stochastic Index Numbers and Their Application in Accounting, Economics and Finance”, ARC Discovery Project, 2003-05, $126,000 (with H. Y. Izan and E. A. Selvanathan).

“Economic Aspects of Wool in Western Australia”, ARC Linkage Project, Agriculture Western Australia, the industry partner, 2003-05, $480,000 (with M. J. Tcha).

“The Economics of Value-Adding in WA Agriculture”, Department of Agriculture and Food WA, 2002, $20,000.

“Modelling Illicit Markets: The Case of Marijuana”, ARC Discovery Project, 2001-03, $143,000 (with X. Zhao).

“Curbing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the WA economy”, ARC Small Grant, 1999, $9,000 (with Q. Ye).

“Living Standards and WA Agriculture”, ARC SPIRT Project; Department of Agriculture and Food WA, industry partner, 1998-2000, $243,000.

“Energy Costs and Mineral Production in Western Australia”, ARC Large Grant Scheme, 1998-2000, $127,000.

“The Economics of Energy Reform in Western Australia”, ARC and BHP Iron Ore, ARC Australian Postgraduate Award (Industry), 1996-98, $90,000.

“Simulation in Demand Analysis”, ARC Large Grant, 1996-97, $77,000.

“The Economics of the East Asian Steel industry”, Pohang Steel Research Institute (POSRI), Korea, 1995-96, $123,000 (with M. J. Tcha and R Greig).

“W.A. Gold Mining Industry Study”, Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA, 1995, $50,000 (with R. Greig).

“Minerals, East Asia and the WA Economy”, ARC and Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA, ARC Collaborative Research Grant, 1995-97, $199,000 (with R. Greig).

Previous positions

Head, Economics Program, The University of Western Australia, 2001-06, 2009-13

Director, Economic Research Centre, The University of Western Australia, 1986-2006

Dean, Faculty of Economics and Commerce, The University of Western Australia, 1996-98

Visitor, Faculty of Economics and Commerce, University of Melbourne, 1982

Economist, Reserve Bank of Australia, Sydney, 1974, 1979 -81

Associate Director, Centre for Studies in Money, Banking and Finance and Visiting Fellow, Macquarie University, 1980

Assistant Professor of Economics and International Business, Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago, 1977-79

Associate Director of the Centre for Mathematical Studies in Business and Economics, Department of Economics and Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago, Winter 1979

Current projects

Consumption economics (with Yihui Lan, UWA, and Haiyan Liu, WA Dept of Transport; George Verikios, Marc Mariano and Berwyn Wong, KPMG, Brisbane; Long Vo, Synergy, Perth; Antony Selvanathan and Saroja Selvanathan, Griffith University).

The law of one price (with Long Vo, Synergy).

“A Multi-Market Approach to Measuring the Cycle” (with G. Gao).

Main Teaching

Economic Management and Strategy ECON5503, 2014-2015.

International Finance and Markets ECON4415 and ECON5502, c1990-2018.

Monetary Economics ECON2210, 1985-2013.

Research

International economics, monetary economics and applied microeconomics