Research conducted by members in Economics
Contents
Links to more information
Publications
Working Paper Series
Funded research projects 2003-current
Funded research projects pre 1996-2003
Research interests of staff
Reseach Grants
Research degrees are offered in all disciplines of the Faculty and are available on a full time or part time basis. Students may study on campus or by distance education. We currently have 84 enrolled research postgraduates, of which 62 are in doctoral programs.
Doctor of Philosophy
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program is the highest degree on offer at the University of New England. Candidates pursue a program of research on an approved topic. Research topics may range over all fields of Economics, Business and Law reflecting the comprehensive research interests of the Faculty subject to the availability of adequate academic supervision. Students will complete a thesis of no more than 100,000 words over a period of three years full time study or the part-time equivalent. International students have the option of enrolling in a four year program which will allow the completion of a foundation Doctoral year to underpin their PhD studies.
Please visit UNE's Research Services for information on enrolling in a PhD and to obtain an application form.
Master of Economics
The Master of Economics is designed to provide advanced training in a number of areas within the field of Economics, Accounting and Financial Management, Marketing and Management and related disciplines. The duration of the course is three semesters of full time study or up to four years of part time study. Applicants judged not to be adequately prepared for candidature may be advised to enrol in the Graduate Diploma or a Master’s Qualifying Course. Depending on academic performance, such candidates may be eligible to transfer to the Master of Economics program without completion of the bridging program and with advanced standing for appropriate completed units of study. The study program may include one semester of course work units and a major dissertation or consist of a research thesis only.
Please visit UNE's Research Services for information on enrolling in a Masters by Research and to obtain an application form.
The areas of specialisation are as follows:Agricultural and Resource Economics
Candidates may specialise in one or more of the following areas: agribusiness management; agribusiness strategy; agricultural economics; development economics; resource economics; and quantitative methods.
Economics
Candidates can choose to focus on theoretical and/or applied aspects of economics and pursue in-depth research into particular aspects of the global economic system, including local and regional issues in an international context.
Economic History
Candidates undertake a research training program emphasising advanced study of primary sources and secondary literature which is designed to establish a high level of professional competence in undertaking independent research.
Marketing and Management
Candidates consider the strategic combination of quantitative and qualitative data to achieve research aims and explore the interdependence between managerial and marketing contexts and the methods/analytic techniques by which human behaviour can be studied. Research supervision is available in a number of areas in the New England Business School including organisational development and change and human resource management.
Accounting and Financial Management
Candidates are able to plan a program of study which may include units in accounting, finance, information systems, and small enterprise finance and management. It is also possible to structure a specific program in a single discipline within accounting and financial management.
Research postgraduate completions
The fruits of research
The immediate fruits of Faculty research include completed theses and awarded degrees, books, articles, conference papers and public and private reports. However the more significant outcomes are the impacts that these produce in terms of scholarship and real-world outcomes from this knowledge.
DEST credited publications
During 2005 staff of the Faculty produced over 100 DEST credited publications. Economics publications can be found at the School's publications website. This is an increase of over 20 per cent over 2004. A list of these is provided in the following pages together with details of other publications produced by each school.
Whilst new knowledge is important in its own right, the impacts that this research can have in the ‘real world’ is no less important. One example of this is the impact of the work of Associate Professor Sinden on the economic impacts of native vegetation regulation, which was widely cited in both specialist and media circles, and which has contributed to a growing understanding of the social equity impacts of natural resource management strategies.
The Faculty produced over 100 non-DEST credited conference papers, reports, and commissioned studies.
Researchers involved with the community
Our researchers’ work in the community includes participation in events and activities, submissions to enquiries, and support where we can help. Much of this contribution is unrecorded - it simply happens. However, some examples serve to illustrate the depth of this involvement.
A/Professor Jack Sinden, was the Chair of the “Industry Leadership Group” of the HA Environmental Assurance Project, as well as being an active discussant in a number of industry issues.
Staff of the Faculty were involved in many UNE and other organisation Boards, Committees or in other roles, with involvement in issues as diverse as academic policy, organisation of conferences, development of new enterprises, and regional development.
Current Research
The School of Economics has an active research culture and an impressive record of scholarly publications. The School’s experienced and internationally recognised staff have had considerable success in winning competitive research grant income. Often, this has been achieved in collaboration with research partners from within UNE, within Australia and internationally.
Applied Microeconomics and Public Economics and Economic modelling and Trade Policies
A number of projects have been completed in trade policy analysis using CGE with the support of outside funding. The most recent applications have been to examine the effects of free trade agreements between Australia and other trading partners (United States, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and China). A number of postgraduate students undertake their PhD research in the school currently using CGE modelling approach.
Australian Local Government
The School has several members of the UNE Centre for Local Government situated in it. Professor Brian Dollery and doctoral students Joel Byrnes, John Cannadi and Andrew Johnson form partnerships with local government, communities, state agencies and the private sector as well as linking with overseas institutions in research, in professional consulting, and in the delivery of continuing professional development activities. Thus these School members address contemporary rural and regional research issues, including local government restructuring and amalgamations, water and wastewater policy, financial efficiency and management through both research and professional consultancies.
Sustainable development of agricultural and rural economies/sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems
Research projects include global warming, invasive species and salinity. Our research on global warming focuses on the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol and the role that the forestry sector can play through carbon sequestration. The group is applying search theory (originally developed to locate military targets) to invasive species and also to relate the search effort to probability of detection in an effort to evaluate the feasibility of eradicating weed invasions (subject to budget constraints). On the salinity front we are developing spatially-explicit models at the catchment level. These models are used to evaluate the conditions under which public expenditure on salinity control is justified. A component of this research includes application of multi-agent systems to assess the potential of alternative incentive mechanisms to encourage landholders to take actions that will reduce salinity emergence.
Economics of Avian Influenza in Indonesia
Research was undertaken in 2004 and 2005 on the Indonesian poultry industry and, as avian influenza took hold, grants were obtained from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research to survey affected Indonesian poultry farms. One survey has been already conducted and four more will be undertaken over the next eighteen months. This project has resulted in strong links between the University of New England, Food & Agricultural Organization in Rome and Directorate General Livestock in the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture in Indonesia.
Economy and Society in the Asia – Pacific Region
Asia/Southeast Asia
Researchers working in this area are affiliated with the UNE Asia Centre and there are 4 PhD students, 2 Masters students and an Honours student in the group. The School, in partnership with the and the ANU, established an Asia-Pacific Regional Migration Research Forum network in 2005. The project will develop collaboration between academics and practitioners (including NGO leaders, human rights lawyers, government officials etc.) working on key issues of cross border migration in the Asia Pacific region. This collaboration will promote better understanding of major current and impending cross-border movements of people; the politics and policies of receiving migrants; governance of migration; and methods to protect the human rights of regular and irregular migrants. A Workshop on the Refugee Crisis has been scheduled for 2006.
Small island economies
The principal concern of this research is the development of the Pacific island economies, with some emphasis on the MIRAB phenomenon. There is, however, also a concern with the macroeconomic management of microstates generally. Its current focus is on dollarisation and currency board issues. Australian Economy, Economic Institutions Researchers focus on industrial relations and Australian economic institutions.
Professional contributions
An additional feature of note of the School of Economics is the number of scholarly and advisory appointments held by its constituent academics. This is especially evident in board appointments, as office bearers in professional associations and membership of numerous editorial boards. Amarjit Kaur is Chair of Panel B (Accounting, Economics, Economic History, Statistics) of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia for 2005-7, JB Hardaker was awarded status of Distinguished Fellow, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, 2005. These appointments further demonstrate the research strengths of the School of Economics.
Throughout the year the School has conducted a number of research seminars.
Research Centres and groups
Centres and research groups provide an efficient framework for assembling or managing project teams. As well as those housed within the Faculty, Faculty researchers also work through the many cooperative research centres and other research centres to which UNE is a party.
Centre for Local Government
The Centre provides an umbrella for support, service, education and leadership to all sectors of local government in Australia through education, professional development, consultancy and research.
Research Capability
The Centre partners with local government, communities, state agencies and the private sector as well as linking with overseas institutions in research, in professional consulting, and in the delivery of continuing professional development activities. The Centre addresses contemporary rural and regional research issues, in particular local government restructuring and amalgamations and, more recently, financial efficiency and management, through both research and professional consultancies
Areas of Excellence
The Centre seeks to provide support, service, education and leadership to all sectors of local government in Australia. This is achieved through four core areas of activities: consultancy; education; professional courses; research.
Impact of Research
The Centre is recognized as the foremost producer of economic, financial and social research into Australian local government. It has undertaken research projects and consultancies for numerous individual councils, state local government associations, state Departments of Local Government, and the National Office of Local Government.
Other Outputs
In 2005, the Director addressed local government conferences in Airlie Beach, Albury, Cairns, Edmonton (Alberta), Emerald, Geraldton, Moama, Sydney and Toronto (Ontario).
Centre for Agricultural and Applied Economics
This newly established Centre will become the focus for collaborative applied economics research with government, collaborative research centres and industry. The Faculty is also a core partner in the UNE Asia Centre, and works closely with the Institute for Rural Futures, The National Centre of Science, Information and Communication technology, and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR), and with other UNE research centres.
This page contains a listing of funded research projects undertaken by members of the School of Economics during the last five years. This is just part of the total research produced by staff and graduate students, much of which does not occur within specific projects. To learn about the wide and varied research interests of School members, listed by sub-discipline, click on the links below. Some of this research is reported in our:
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Funded Research (1996-2003) Key to funding agency abbreviations.
Funding agency abbreviations
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