Curriculum Vitae

Last update: September 2025

Current appointment(s):

Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of the Fraser Valley, June 2024 - present

Faculty Associate, Community Health and Social Innovation (CHASI) Hub, University of the Fraser Valley, September 2023 - present

Previous appointments:

Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of the Fraser Valley, August 2019 - May 2024

Visiting Faculty, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University, May 2021 - August 2021

Assistant Professor (limited term), Department of Economics, University of Windsor, July 2015 - August 2019

International Visiting Professor, Centro de Aperfeiçoamento de Economistas do Nordeste (CAEN), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Brazil,  June 2019

Visiting Scholar, Department of Economics and Finance, University of Guelph, July 2016 - August 2016

Sessional Lecturer, Department of Economics and Finance, University of Guelph, September 2013 - August 2015

Statistical Officer (Economist 2), Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, April 2008 - August 2009

Labour Market Analyst Intern, Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, October 2007 - March 2008

Instructor, Allied Business Department, De La Salle University Dasmarinas Philippines, June 2003 - April 2007

Intern, Regional Development Staff, National Economic and Development Authority, Philippines, 1998

Other affiliation(s):

Columnist, The Lobbyist, August 2025 - present

Education:

Ph.D. in Economics, University of Guelph, Canada, 2015

Dissertation: Three Essays in Remittance Effectiveness

M.A. in Economics, University of Guelph, Canada, 2010 

M.A. in Applied Economics, De La Salle University, Philippines, 2004 

B.A. in Economics (with Academic Distinction), San Beda College, Philippines, 2000 

Publications:

Batu, M., M. Arbex, and S. Caetano (2024). "Taylor Rules During a Pandemic: A Counterfactual Exercise". Applied Economics Letters, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2024.2379479  

Batu, M. and B. Seo (2022). "Gender Roles and Safety of Women at Home in the COVID-19 Era: Evidence from 101 Countries".  International Review of Applied Economics, 36 (5-6): 739-761

Batu, M. and Z. Zhao (2021). "Economic Effects of Sunspot Volatility". Economics Bulletin, 41(1): 117-124

Batu, M. and M. Arbex (2020). "What if People Value Nature? Climate Change and Welfare Costs". Resource and Energy Economics, 61: 1-22

Batu, M. and J. Atsu Amegashie (2020). "Wider Boundaries: The Welfare State and International Remittances". Finnish Economic Papers, 1: 1-18

Batu, M. (2019). "Can Remitances Buy Peace?" Economics of Transition, 27(4): 891-913

Batu, M., N. Bower, A. Sadanand and T. Lun (2018). "Testing the Effectiveness of Online Assignments in Theory of Finance". Journal of Education for Business, 93 (3): 119–127

Batu, M. (2017). "International Worker Remittances and Economic Growth in a Real Business Cycle Framework". Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 40: 81-91

M. Batu, Annen, K. and S. Kosempel (2016). "Macroeconomic Effects of Foreign Aid and Remittances: Implications for Aid Effectiveness Studies". Journal of Policy Modeling,  38 (6): 1136-1146

Papers under review:

Price Effects of Increasing the Minimum Wage: Evidence from Regions in the Philippines

Dormant working papers:

Poverty and the Colonial Origins of Elite Capture: Evidence from the Philippines

Electoral Cycles and the Allocation of Foreign Aid (with Darren Larue)

Do online assignments improve student performance in introductory mathematical economics?  (with Asha Sadanand) 

Irregular arrivals: Refugee migration to welfare state

The power of faith: Religiosity, saving, and standard of living (with Laurent Cellarier) 

Research grants:

E-Campus Ontario Grant (2017-2018), "A multi-institutional initiative to establish the development of shared, hybrid first year and large enrolment courses", University of Windsor, $92,873

Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant (2016-2017), "Political dynasties and economic development", University of Windsor, $4,800

Professional Development Grant (2016), University of Windsor - $1,550

Academic Development Travel Fund Grant (2016), University of Windsor - $1,000

Teaching awards (as faculty):

University of Windsor - Department of Economics Teaching Score Award (2015-2016)

University of Guelph - Associate Vice President Academic TA Award of Excellence (2014)

University of Guelph - College of Business and Economics GTA Teaching Excellence Award (2014)

Other awards:

Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2013, 2014, 2015)

Ontario Graduate Fellowship (2012, 2013)

Academic Excellence Prize (2010)

Academic Achievement Prize (2009)

First place - Preliminary Quantitative Methods Exam (2009) 

Refereed conference presentations, invited seminars and lectures:

2025: The World in Turmoil PoliTalk Panel Discussion (University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC), State of the Nation 2025 – G na G o GG na?  (Publicus Asia - Virtual - Manila, Philippines), ConnectED 2025 (University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC), Trump 2.0 and the New World Order PoliTalk Panel Discussion (University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC)

2024: Canadian Economics Association meetings (Toronto, ON) , University of the Fraser Valley and Rotary Club of Sumas (Abbotsford, BC), Economic Future of BC Post Election (University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC)

2023: University of Mindanao Research Congress (Virtual - Davao, Philippines)

2022: Philippine Economic Society Annual Meetings (Virtual - Manila, Philippines), National Webinar - Member's Forum of Council of Economics Educators of the Philippines (Virtual - Manila, Philippines), Ukraine-Russia PoliTalk Panel Discussion (University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC), Russian Invasion of Ukraine: A Political and Economic Discussion (San Beda College - Virtual - Manila, Philippines)

2021: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Research Fair (Virtual - Manila, Philippines), National Webinar Council of Economics Educators of the Philippines (Virtual - Manila, Philippines), Lectures in Climate Economics, Remittances, and Monetary Policy (San Beda College - Virtual - Manila, Philippines)

2019: CAEN - Universidade Federal do Ceará (Fortaleza, Brazil), University of Windsor Brown Bag (Windsor, ON), University of the Fraser Valley (Abbotsford, BC) , Canadian Economics Association meetings (Banff, AB)

2018: Canadian Economics Association meetings (Montreal, PQ), Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC)

2017: MacEwan University (Edmonton, AB), Canadian Economics Association meetings (Antigonish, NS), University of Windsor Brown Bag (Windsor, ON) , SSHRC Workshop on Commodities, Well-being, and Institutions (Guelph, ON) 

2016: Rimini Conference in Economics and Finance (Waterloo, ON), Canadian Economics Association meetings (Ottawa, ON), University of Windsor (Windsor, ON)

2015: University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC), Canadian Economics Association meetings (Toronto, ON) 

2014: Canadian Economics Association meetings (Vancouver, BC), Midwest Economics Association meetings (Evanston, IL), Graduate Student University Teaching Conference (Guelph, ON) ,  De La Salle University (Dasmariñas, Philippines)

2013: Religious Faith and Social and Applied Sciences Conference (Orem, UT), University of Guelph Internal Seminar (Guelph, ON), Society for Computational Economics meetings (Vancouver, BC), Canadian Economics Association meetings (Montreal, PQ), Midwest Economics Association meetings (Columbus, OH) 

2012: Canadian Economics Association meetings (Calgary, AB), University of Guelph Internal Seminar (Guelph, ON), Graduate Student University Teaching Conference (Guelph, ON) 

Editorial board:

La Sallian Journal of Business and Tourism

Professional journal refereeing:

Economic Modelling, Journal of Civil Wars, Economics Bulletin, Poverty and Public Policy, Journal of Economics and Finance Education, Economic Change and Restructuring, Review of Economic Analysis, The Economics of Transition, Economic Systems, Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Review of Social Economy,  Research in International Business and Finance, Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Economic Annals, Economics Research International, Human Resources for Health

Textbook refereeing:

Principles of Macroeconomics Canadian Edition (1st ed.) by Kevin Milligan, Philip Oreopoulos, Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers

Microeconomics, Canadian Edition (15th ed.) by Chris Ragan

Macroeconomics, Canadian Edition (15th ed.) by Chris Ragan

Microeconomics, Canadian Edition (2nd ed.) by Dean Karlan and Jonathan Morduch

Macroeconomics, Canadian Edition (2nd ed.) by Dean Karlan and Jonathan Morduch

Microeconomics (2nd ed.) by Austan Goolsbee, Steven Levitt, Chad Syverson

Microeconomics, Canadian Edition (2nd ed.) by Paul Krugman, Robin Wells, Iris Au and Jack Parkinson

Macroeconomics, Canadian Edition (2nd ed.) by Paul Krugman, Robin Wells, Iris Au and Jack Parkinson

Macroeconomics for Life: Smart Choices for All?  (2nd ed.) by Avi Cohen

Development of course materials:

Test Banks for Microeconomics, Canadian Edition (2nd ed.) by Dean Karlan and Jonathan Morduch

Test Banks for Macroeconomics, Canadian Edition (2nd ed.) by Dean Karlan and Jonathan Morduch

Research supervision:

University of the Fraser Valley

Supervisor

Mayu Ochi - "Determinants of Housing Vacancies Across Japanese Prefectures"- Directed Research Studies (2025) 

Ashley McDougall - "Axe the Tax? A Policy Evaluation of B.C.’s Carbon Tax" - Directed Research Studies (2024) 

Nathan Burns - "Economic Analysis of the Big 5 European Football Leagues" - Directed Research Studies (2022) 

Adena Penner - "Determinants of Salaries of Elected First Nations Chiefs in British Columbia" - Directed Research Studies (2021) 

University of Windsor

Supervisor

Frank Zhao - "Economic Effects of Solar Activity: Evidence From Canada" - M.A. Major Paper (2019) 

Minxu Yang - "Economic Analysis of an Emerging Economy Stock Market: The Case of the Shanghai Stock Exchange" - M.A. Major Paper (2018) 

Darren Larue - "Election Cycles and the Allocation of Aid" - M.A. Major Paper (2018) 

Sumair Khoja - "Finding the link: A correlation between trust and long term GDP growth"- M.A. Major Paper (2017)

Second reader

Antoine Trifonov - "Feasibility of an education subsidy: A numerical analysis" - M.A. Thesis (2017)

Training:

Supplemental Instruction Supervisor, University of Guelph, June 2016

Service activities:

University of the Fraser Valley

College of Arts Curriculum Committee (CACC) (2019 - present)

Division Review Committee for the Social Sciences (2024 - present)

Division Review Committee for the Faculty of Business and Computing (2025 - present)

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion & Anti-Discrimination (EDI-AD) Advisory Committee (2024 - present)

Undergraduate Education Committee (2023 - 2025)

College of Arts Curriculum Renewal Project (2023 - 2024)

Teaching Awards Working Group  (2023 - 2024)

Institutional Learning Outcomes Core Working Group (2022 - 2023)

Economics Articulation Committee - British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfers (2022)

Global Development Studies (GDS) Program Committee (2019 - 2022)

Student Research Day Volunteer Judge (2020, 2021, 2022)

University of Windsor

Faculty advisor for University of Windsor Filipino Association (2016 - 2018)

Department of Economics undergraduate curriculum committee (2016 - 2018)

Department of Economics Science recruitment and retention committee (2016 - 2018)

Department of Economics computer lab coordinator (2016 - 2018)

Department of Economics webmaster (2015 - 2018)

Department representative for Ontario Universities Fair (2016)

Volunteer for Spring Open house (2016, 2017)

Department of Economics library liaison (2015 - 2017)

University of Guelph

Member, Teaching Assistants Advisory Council (2013-2015)

Professional affiliations:

Canadian Economics Association (2011 - present)

Council of Economics Educators (CECON) of the Philippines (2020 - present)

Canadian Development Economics Study Group (2015 - present)

American Economics Association (2016 - 2020)

Southern Economics Association (2016 - 2019)

Midwest Economics Association (2013 - 2016)

Society for Computational Economics (2013 - 2014)