Department highlights

Prof Yves Zenou, Prof Lata Gangadharan and Prof Erte Xiao have all recently won major University and Monash Business School awards.

Research success for top team

Prof Lata Gangadharan and Prof Erte Xiao have been awarded the 2025 Dean’s Award for Research Team of the Year.

Professors Xiao and Gangadharan have been collaborating for ten years. Their recent research focuses on institutional barriers to equity, with two main strands - charitable giving and gender equality in leadership.

Prof Lata Gangadharan with Deputy Dean (Research) Prof Russell Smyth.

They study how social preferences, norms, and institutional design shape prosocial behaviour and opportunities for inclusion. In charitable giving, they examine how information and social norms influence generosity.

In gender equality, they investigate how psychological factors and gender norms affect leadership selection, negotiation, and workplace dynamics, offering insights for policy and institutional design.

“Our collaboration combines overlapping strengths with complementary skills,” Prof Gangadharan said.

“I get excited about translating real-world problems into testable hypotheses using an experimental lens, while Erte integrates behavioural and psychological insights into an economic framework. We both value diverse perspectives. I enjoy working with Erte, it is a rewarding collaboration both in the professional and personal sense!”

How do you hope to inspire others?

“We aim to foster curiosity, open-mindedness, and also cross-disciplinary collaboration when relevant,” Prof Gangadharan said.

“We actively involve junior and mid-career researchers in all aspects of research, from data collection to co-authorship. Beyond academia, our work has informed national recruitment guidelines and government policy, and received coverage in Bloomberg, BBC News, and the Australian Financial Review,” she said.

“Through mentorship and regular research group meetings, we hope to help early career scholars develop leadership and research skills.”

What does it mean for you to receive the award?

“It is an honour to be recognised by our peers and motivates us to continue addressing institutional barriers to equity.”

What are you most excited about in your research collaboration moving forward?

“We are excited to develop new ideas on institutional barriers to equity and collaborate with talented junior scholars to advance this work in the coming years,” Prof Gangadharan said.

The Dean’s Commendations for Research Team of the Year went to A/Prof Guillaume Roger and Dr Sergei Balakin (Energy Lab).

Professor Tim Moore recently joined the Department of Economics as its new Impact and Engagement Director, after spending seven years in the USA at Purdue University, and at the National Bureau of Economic Research as a Research Associate.

Professor Tim Moore.

“I have been moving back and forth from Australia and the United StatesAmerica for many years,” Prof Moore says.

“Before Purdue, I was at the University of Melbourne. It’s great to be back, but it especially makes sense as both my family and my wife’s family are here. (And) there are also a lot of different policy issues which make it more interesting to work in Australia,” he says.

Prof Moore started his career working in the private sector and for NGOs. The more interested he got in different policy issues, he says, the more sense it made to return to academia to do a PhD in order to develop a deeper understanding of economics and to be able to contribute to policy development.

He undertook a master’s degree at Monash University 20 years ago, and continued his PhD at the University of Maryland in the USAmerica.

“A small number of faculty are still here from when I did my master’s last time I was at Monash,” he says.

After completing his PhD, he remained in the Washington DC area.

He specialises in public economics and health economics, such as understanding primarily pensions and the effect they have on work and health. Another focus is on determinants of health - such as how both income and retirement affect health. And he has other research examining the economics of illicit drug markets and risky behaviour.

“There are lots of ways to think of the design of government programs and tax settings, and I find that fascinating,” Prof Moore says.

“My research is empirical, working with large data sets. For the last decade, Australia has developed a lot of data assets, so there are several potentially interesting opportunities to do research on Australian topics/issues."

Policy has always been at the centre of his research, which is what drew him to Economics in the first place, he explains, as the discipline provides the frameworks to examine, explore and evaluate policy.

Therefore, it is great that he has the opportunity to spend one day a week at the Australian Treasury, providing advice as an advisor to the treasury around issues related to empirical policy analysis.

You were at Monash 20 years ago, for your Master’s degree. What do you think of it now?

“The university has changed a lot, and grown so much. The university, and the department, is very dynamic. So far it has been great to be back.”

What’s the best part of being back in Melbourne?

“It’s a very cosmopolitan city with great weather and activities, and it’s so good to be around family and friends. I have young children, so I don’t have a lot of spare time that I don’t spend with them. I’m currently coaching a soccer team and I also enjoy gardening and reading.”

Off to a flying start in his new role at Monash

Prof Moore recently organised an event with University of Chicago Professor Jens Ludwig. Prof Ludwig combines AI, behavioural science, and data science to help solve social problems. He has worked at length on the social problems of young people in Chicago who both commit and are victims of violence, and suffer poor educational outcomes.

Data-driven policy innovation: Big data, better data, and AI: A
conversation with the University of Chicago's Professor Jens
Ludwig, organised by Tim Moore.

“I ran a fireside chat with (Prof Ludwig) in the Melbourne CBD with about 100 attendees, as well as an additional meeting where 15 federal and state policy makers could talk with Prof Ludwig in more detail who are looking to integrate AI into policy processes,” Prof Moore says.

“I would like to do more of these kinds of events. We already have a lot of knowledge at Monash and (also incoming) through our visitors. I want to connect with policy makers and different interest groups to expand the activities that are already happening in the department to increase our outreach and impact at a reasonable cost,” he says.

This month, Assistant Minister for Productivity Andrew Leigh brought together 30 economists from universities and think tanks to talk about productivity at a round table discussion.

Professor Moore participated in his capacity as a professor at Monash Business School.

“A number of academics around Australia are trying to shape Australian public policy. Economics is focused on important issues around maximising welfare and distribution of resources, so our tools lend themselves to policy discussions. It is important we are engaged in public policy discussions.”

Our involvement in Impact Labs

Interdisciplinary Impact Labs were launched in 2023 across Monash Business School. There are currently six individual multidisciplinary research labs that seek to engage with industry and policymakers to drive sustainable change. Several staff from the Department of Economics are active in Impact Labs, collaborating with colleagues across the Business School.

Dr Chengsi Wang, Director, Digital Lab

Dr Chengsi Wang.

Dr Wang communicates with industry partners about what they are interested in, finds researchers who can work on certain projects, and matches them with each other. He works with researchers from law, marketing and management, meaning he has a range of options when matching staff with partners.

Digital Lab has established research collaboration with three industry partners, and strengthened their relationships with regulators.

“Some benefits of working across the Labs include obtaining external funds and gaining institutional knowledge. We find interesting research topics to work on by collaborating with partners, and our research is likely to make a bigger policy impact,” Chengsi says.

His goal for the future is to have a list of around 10 industry partners who each have long-term relationships with Digital Lab, and back the lab's research. The lab would  become a major platform for policymakers, firms, and researchers to interact in Asia-Pacific. In particular, lab members would be more directly involved in antitrust cases and competition policymaking.

Dr Guillaume Roger, Director, Energy Lab

Dr Guillaume Roger.

Soon after it was launched in 2023, Energy Lab was awarded a large grant that enabled them to employ 3 post-doctoral staff to work on questions of electricity.

“With this input we could advance quite rapidly,” Guillaume said. “We produced a series of papers on market design and on the economics of storage that are really novel.  We put together an Memorandum of Understanding with the market commission (AEMC) and have a really good relationship with them.”

“We also reach out to industry partners on more practical questions such as the impact of electric vehicle penetration on the system.”

“We also contributed to the abandonment of capacity mechanisms in the national market.  Sometimes stopping a bad policy is a victory,” he says.

Recent benefits and learnings

Expanding on recent benefits and learnings, Guillaume says: “I think the main benefits are the singular focus that we have on energy markets--for now, electricity really -- and the unified front we can present to the outside world.”

“It also signals a commitment made by the business school to treat some specific areas differently because they are important, and we have the skills that match.”

“When recruiting, for example, we seek a specific profile, not just a good economist.  It also creates room to operate a bit more flexibly than the department; if dealing with a big project we can ramp up reasonably rapidly for a finite time,” he says.

As Energy Lab Director, Guillaume’s two main tasks are to define a research agenda that they can prosecute and try to find the means to do so -- to be clear, money.  It is easy to say "energy markets", but harder to articulate research questions that must satisfy two criteria:  to have meaningful impact and the potential to lead to good publications.  At present his biggest project is storage.  It is a revolution in electricity and it is essential to any large-scale transition.  But storage is inherently dynamic, which is a novel dimension in electricity.  So they seek to understand how this operates with the view to engage in market design.

Benefits of a multi-disciplinary approach

The reality of multidisciplinary research is that it is very hard to publish,
Guillaume says.

“Economics journals, for example, expect papers to be about economics.  Rightly or wrongly, the rest is extraneous.  So immediately that kills the incentives to engage in multidisciplinary research, even though it may be beneficial to actually solve problems,” he says.

“For example, the market commission wants to create a market for what is called inertia services.  To address this, a market designer asks: ‘What is the demand for inertia?’, and the answer is that no-one knows. Next; How does one value inertia?  Again, no one knows.  What exactly does one more unit of inertia do to the power system?  No one knows.  But an engineer could try to figure this out.  So, to understand that is the marginal value of inertia, we need engineers to help us.”

What would you like to achieve in the future?

“I'd like to see a steady group of people working on the important questions of the energy transition.  This transition is underway, like it or not, and there are many ways to handle it.  We can use the opportunity to restore some competition in the electricity sector, and improve the performance of the wholesale market.  I'd like to work a bit more closely with the main agencies and become a trusted partner for them.  The harder part is to get the big companies interested in what we do but we keep trying,” he says.

“Energy is a very important sector of the economy.  It was sleepy and boring for a while, so economists neglected it a bit. The energy transition introduces heterogenous technologies that render these markets much more interesting.  There is a lot at stake, so I invite my colleagues to partake and use their great skills to contribute.”

Dr Anke Leroux, researcher, Green Lab

Dr Anke Leroux.

Dr Anke Leroux works with the Lab’s Director, Anita Foerster. In its first two years, Green Lab has developed a number of successful webinar series, to profile MBUS research on climate change and sustainability and to facilitate conversations on important policy challenges between academics, industry, government and civil society. The recent webinar on Nature-related financial risks and Directors Duties, co-hosted with the Law Faculty, attracted 560 registrations.

The ongoing webinars on climate change adaptation,  Living with Two Degrees Plus, are building a strong following from a diverse audience of adaptation practitioners in government and industry and academics, and connecting Monash researchers with leading adaptation researchers in the United States and China.

Green Lab members working on Circular Economy research have developed and hosted a highly successful series of roundtables with state and local government and industry stakeholders, forming the basis for the ongoing development of new projects and grant applications. Green Lab team was a core contributor to Monash's recent university-wide submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into a Circular Economy.

Law and policy reform submissions are important groundwork for Green Lab's engagement activities and the team have prepared a range of submissions to international and Australian law and policy reform processes, including the UNFCCC, Cth Dept of Environment Energy, the Environment and Water, the Australian Accounting Standards Board and the International Sustainability Standards Board.

Green Lab members have also authored a number of discussion papers which are available online - one recent example is Net Zero Nature Positive Australian Companies - the evolving regulatory context, which analyses a range of regulatory drivers for Australian companies to address climate and nature-related risks and impacts.”

Anke is involved in the Net Zero Nature Positive Australian Companies project. Led by Green Lab, it is a collaboration between legal, finance, economics, and accounting researchers from across the faculty. The project is tracking and evaluating corporate responses to international and Australian regulatory developments on climate change and biodiversity and will use these insights to inform interested stakeholders such as investors and to propose law and policy reform.

“I bring an economics perspective to the project. In particular, I am interested in the mix of decarbonisation strategies (including but not limited to buying carbon credits) that companies in different sectors employ and why. Decarbonisation strategies differ in their costs per unit of emission reductions, with both achieved emission reductions and costs being subject to risk. Ultimately, I would like to understand how the optimal portfolio of strategies may change along the decarbonisation pathway,” she explains.

Benefits of a multi-disciplinary approach in research

“It can take time to develop effective multidisciplinary teams, but a multi-disciplinary approach to research on climate change and sustainability has a number of advantages and appears to be very attractive to external stakeholders,” Anke says.

“For our particular project, legal researchers can contribute a deep understanding of regulatory frameworks addressing climate change and biodiversity (including compliance obligations and other regulatory pressures). This understanding provides a good foundation for studies in other business disciplines - including economics.”

“Working with Green Lab colleagues has also helped me connect with government and non-government stakeholders and with researchers across the university. This certainly grounds and informs my research and enhances its visibility. It has also helped to enhance my teaching, including by providing a new source of guest lecturers!”

Green Lab has 3 research themes: climate and sustainability governance, climate change adaptation, and circular economy. These themes intersect with existing research and expertise within the department of Economics.

In the future Anke hopes to attract more Economics colleagues to join this work – especially those interested in working on biodiversity markets, nature-positive goals, or natural capital accounting.

Green Lab recently initiated the Monash Nature Positive Network, a network of Monash academics from across the university interested in developing new research and engagement projects to address policy challenges associated with the international nature positive goal. This opens up new opportunities for MBUS academics to connect with colleagues in biological sciences, behavioural sciences, law and policy.

If you would like to be involved, please get in touch at Anke.Leroux@monash.edu

We're hosting the Econometric Society Australasian Meetings

Monash Business School is thrilled to once again host the Econometric Society Australasian Meeting (ESAM), marking a 20-year interval since we last hosted in 2004. ESAM 2024 will be co-hosted by the Department of Economics and the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics (EBS), from December 4 – December 6, 2024.

The program chairs are Prof Heather Anderson (EBS), Prof Lata Gangadharan (Economics), Prof Jiti Gao (EBS) and Prof Yves Zenou (Economics).

This year’s conference has drawn an impressive 538 submissions, of which 315 papers appear in the final program, showcasing a rich variety of research and discussions at the forefront of economics and econometrics.

“Organising a conference of this scale is both challenging and rewarding, and it would not be possible without the dedicated efforts of our colleagues across the department,” Prof Lata Gangadharan says.

“Their hard work in reviewing submissions, arranging sessions, and managing logistics has been invaluable in ensuring a smooth and enriching experience for all participants. We are excited to welcome distinguished economists from around the globe next month, who will share their latest research and insights through engaging talks and discussions,” she says.

A special feature of the upcoming ESAM is the session Making Connections and Mentoring, an inaugural initiative dedicated to supporting women registered for the conference. It was funded by the Econometric Society, and organised by Prof Heather Anderson, Prof Lata Gangadharan and A/Prof Solmaz Moslehi.

“This session aims to foster networking and, mentorship, creating a supportive space

for senior and junior women economists to connect, share publication strategies, and discuss pathways for professional growth,” Prof Gangadharan explains.

This year’s Australasian conference welcomes a record number of participants, not only to Australia but especially to Monash Business School.

“I look forward to hearing all the great plenary speakers and participating in interesting sessions. This really solidifies Monash Business School at the forefront of Economics and Econometrics research both globally and in Australia. That is so important,” Prof Yves Zenou says.

Plenary speakers

• Prof Larry Samuelson, First Vice-President, Econometric Society, Yale University
• Prof Siwan Anderson, The University of British Columbia
• Prof Alison Booth, Australian National University
• Prof Xiaohong Chen, Yale University
• A/Prof Ben Golub, Northwestern University
• Prof Oliver Linton, University of Cambridge
• Prof Peter Phillips, Yale University, University of Auckland and Singapore Management University

Program committee members

• Klaus Ackermann
• Natalia Bailey
• Otavio Bartalotti
• Silvio Contessi
• Quoc-Anh Do
• Stefanie Fischer
• David Frazier
• Neal Galpin
• Bonsoo Koo
• Claudio Labanca
• Anke Leroux
• Ole Maneesoonthorn
• Rigissa Megalokonomou
• Solmaz Moslehi
• Bin Peng
• Laura Puzzello
• Birendra Rai
• Michelle Rendall
• Paulo Santos
• Chengsi Wang
• Choon Wang
• Wei Wei
• Benjamin Wong
• Xiaojian Zhao

Local organising committee

• Solmaz Moslehi
• Bin Peng
• Liang Choon Wang
• Wei Wei

More details, including the preliminary program, are available on the ESAM 2024 website.

Ross Booth (1952 - 2024)

A Tribute

Dr Ross Booth, who passed away suddenly on 3 June 2024, was a mentor and friend to countless colleagues and students in the Monash community. Joining the Department of Economics as a Senior Tutor in 1988, Ross completed a PhD in 2000. After promotion to senior lecturer in 2006, Ross served as Course Director for the BCom and BEc at the Clayton and Malaysia campuses.

Ross sits alongside two other great Monash scholars whose teaching and research blended with a passion for sports, in particular Australian Rules football. Historian Ian Turner delivered the annual Ron Barassi (Senior) Memorial Lecture from 1966 to 1978, developing the concept of the ‘Barassi Line’, which separates the parts of Australia where Australian Rules and Rugby League are the most popular football code. Keith Frearson, who taught the core unit in statistics to thousands of economics students from 1968 to 1987, was No 1 ticket holder for South Melbourne Football Club (before it relocated to Sydney), and was a founder and president of the Monash Football Club (Frearson Oval at the Clayton Campus is named for Keith). Ross developed and taught the very popular unit in Sports Economics, offered for many years in degrees at Caulfield, Clayton, and Peninsula. A champion amateur footballer, Ross progressed to commentating on VFA/VFL matches for ABC TV.

Sports economics exists as a field of study because the business of sport differs in several ways to that of conventional business. Sports teams cannot attempt to become a monopoly supplier, as without at least one competitor there is no product to sell. Teams do not exist to maximise profits, as is assumed in conventional models of microeconomics; rather, owners will spend on player wages to maximise the utility derived from winning matches and trophies. And while most non-sport firms seek to develop products that consumers will find to be of consistent, reliable quality, sports leagues will regulate their labour markets to ensure that the result of any match is uncertain, and thus attractive to spectators – a concept known in sports economics as competitive balance.

Ross’s PhD was a study of competitive balance in Australian Rules – this was his main area of research, although he also published articles and chapters on the organisation of sports leagues, governance and sustainability in sports, the economics of major sports events, and the participation of women in sport in scholarly journals, as well as international sports economics handbooks. As a researcher, Ross had an international reputation, and was an active Vice-President of the North American Association of Sports Economists. For over a decade, Ross blended econometrics and economics in a scholarly partnership with Rob Brooks, co-supervising a large number of honours students, and beginning supervision of two PhD students.

- By Associate Professor Lionel Frost.

A recent mentoring workshop for women in academic economics has highlighted the need for better gender balance in the discipline.

Trying to encourage and retain women in academic economics is a major challenge worldwide. Only one in four economists in Australia is a woman according to the latest statistics from the economics database IDEAS RePEc.

Even fewer women reach top academic positions, with just 13 per cent of economic professors female, according to the Economic Society of Australia. Building networks and support through mentorship programs can help counterbalance this issue.

For a long time, Associate Professor Laura Puzzello avoided the mentoring space, but after becoming a mother herself, and struggling with work life balance, she became more engaged in mentoring and gender-related challenges.

While working on her research on cross-border investment, A/Prof Puzzello came across Professor Anusha Chari from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,   who is currently  chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) - a standing committee of the American Economic Association established in 1971.

The committee’s main remit is to promote and support the advancement of women in the economics profession, through a range of initiatives such as mentoring programs.

With the support of the Dean’s Office, A/Prof Puzzello was able to invite Prof Chari to visit Monash Business School and participate in a December 2023 mentoring lunch and workshop for junior and mid-career women hosted by the Department of Economics.

“Discrimination against women is ingrained in the system,” A/Prof Puzzello said.

She believed “men were running the system the best way for most”, but it was not a model that worked for women.

“Women have different needs; we bond over different interests and on a different schedule and do not necessarily feel comfortable acting strategically even when we should. Events like (the mentoring lunch) are truly helpful to build the support system we need to level the playing field,” she said.

The mentoring lunch was based on American workshops frequently run by CSWEP. Prior to the event, mentees were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their professional and personal support networks, their goals, and priorities.

The group of 12 attendees was then split into two groups to discuss topics such as research, networking, promotion, and work-life balance, with each group facilitated by two senior female researchers.

Prof Lata Gangadaran and Prof Erte Xiao (both Economics) and Prof Heather Anderson (Econometrics and Business Statistics), plus Prof Chari, who all shared their experiences working as a woman in the profession. After roughly 30 minutes the groups swapped mentors, and the lunchtime meeting ended with a Q&A panel.

“We want to improve the climate, so economics becomes more diverse and inclusive. We lose the marketplace for ideas when we don’t hear from different perspectives and voices which has implications for both research and policy making,” A/Prof Puzzello said.

“Mentoring is especially important for women because the networks are so small, and we are trying to build a sense of community. We want a safe space to be supported where you can get advice. It’s also important for senior women to hear the concerns of junior women and support the community to understand what is needed,” Prof Chari said.

A mentoring program run by economists could naturally do randomized controlled trials on itself, she said, with results from a randomized control trial run by CSWEP’s CeMENT workshop show that women who participated in mentoring workshops were more likely to get tenure, stay on in academia, have bigger co-author networks and more publications in top journals.

Monash Business School aims to extend these workshops to run frequently across all departments.

During the final Q&A, several senior female professors regretted not being pushy enough and proactive about their research when they were younger. There was a repeated feeling of isolation.

“I wish I had been braver and more outgoing earlier on in my career. Instead, I was more shy. I wish I had been more confident and not worried about being perceived as too forward” Prof Chari said.

She said the main current challenge for women in economics was the climate they worked within.

“The field is built on a culture of brutally honest debate. For example, seminars can be so combative that oftentimes women are put off and shy away from the discipline itself. Ideally, we would want a climate where you have robust debate but that’s respectful and more welcoming. The change I would most like to see is a culture that is less hostile,” Prof Chari said.

Professor Anusha Chari’s advice for female mentees:

* Think about people who support you and who you can ask for help in your network,  both professionally and on a personal level so you can actualise your potential.

* Build a network of mentors, both internally in your department and externally.

* Don’t hesitate to approach other researchers and talk about your research.

* Make a list of people to connect with and invite them for online or in person seminars.

* Before going to a conference, set a goal and be purposeful about what you want to accomplish, for example certain people you want to talk to or potential co-authors you want to meet. 

* Be brave and put yourself forward. You are not being too pushy.

Monash Indonesia welcomes collaboration from the department of Economics

Andrew MacIntyre.

Monash University Indonesia is the first foreign university in that country, and is a postgraduate campus only offering Master’s degrees, PhDs and Executive Education courses.

The campus is based in the southwest of Greater Jakarta, with a faculty of about 25 academic staff and around 250 students. Professor Andrew MacIntyre is the President of Monash University Indonesia. With a background in political science, his research focus has been on Indonesian government politics and policy making.

“The business and wider community in Indonesia have been very supportive. We’re very clear that our core mission is all about making a strong contribution to the further success of Indonesia. In doing so we welcome more collaboration from colleagues at the Monash Business School, and there are many opportunities here for staff,” he said.

Monash Indonesia offers Master’s degrees and programs from different faculties at Monash Australia. These include: Master of Business Innovation, Master of Public Policy and Management, Master of Data Science, Master of Urban Design, Master of Cyber Security  Master of Public Health. Next year, the Master of Sustainability and the Master of Marketing and digital communication followed by a Master of smart transportation and infrastructure.

Monash University, Indonesia Campus.

While most students attending Monash University Indonesia have been local, the first international students have started arriving, from China, Taiwan and Qatar.

Both Monash University Indonesia and the Indonesian government hope to increase the number of foreign students. Most staff carry Indonesian passports but have been trained all over the world. There are already some joint units taught with Monash Business School and Monash Indonesia, especially in the Executive Education space. A future aim of the University is for students to start a degree in Indonesia and complete it in Melbourne.

“Too few people know that Indonesia is one of the loveliest countries in the world and there are such extraordinary economic and social opportunities here. The staff who come from overseas understand that their research and teaching can have a much broader impact here,” Prof MacIntyre said.

Monash Indonesia has two main roles: to build a successful and self-sustaining campus that the Monash community can be proud of; and to be a facilitative platform for the Monash community who wish to engage with Indonesia. In order to enhance these roles Monash Indonesia is looking to strengthen ties with Monash Business School and welcomes visits from, and collaborations with, staff from the Department of Economics.

“We hugely welcome interest from any colleagues in Economics whether they have an interest in Indonesia or have a good project or consulting operation. The more researchers from faculties of business and economics who have conferences, projects or  collaborations here, the better, whether it links to our campus or not,” Prof MacIntyre said.

“That could be research bids, grants or collaborative teaching programs that include Indonesia. Colleagues at Monash Australia would be surprised how good their colleagues are here and how good the students are. There is a huge opportunity for Monash in Indonesia,” he said.

In this issue of EcoNews we are delighted to feature three people essential to the smooth running of the department: Department manager Ms Sue Ball; Administrative Officer Ms Angela Kousourakis; and Executive Assistant Ms Elena Scherbak.

Sue Ball, Angela Kousourakis, and Elena Scherbak.

All three come from very different backgrounds and have been with the department for varying lengths of time. The department is so grateful for their ongoing support and efforts.

Let’s start with Ms Sue Ball. She worked for 22 years as the Student Centre Manager in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne, before she joined the department of Economics a little over five years ago. But originally Sue was a primary school teacher.

She was born in Ouyen in the Mallee and moved to Glen Waverley when she was six years old. What she most enjoys about working in the department is the variety of work and the people.

What do you like to do outside of work?

“I love going out to eat and trying new places. I am currently learning how to play lawn bowls,” she says.

Tell us something about yourself that you don't think your colleagues know about you.

“I played netball and basketball at a highly competitive level.”

Administrative Officer Angie Kousourakis has been working the longest at the department out of all the professional staff.

She first started working in the department of Information Technology for a couple of years but has been with the department of Economics for the last 11 years.

She has also previously worked in organising major sporting events in Melbourne where she is from.

“I was born in Melbourne at the Royal Women’s Hospital. My parents are Greek, and I grew up in Hughesdale. When I’m not working, I enjoy going out for dinner, drinks, and movies with family and friends. I do Zumba and love going for walks along the beach.”

She most enjoys working with the team and meeting new people.

Executive Assistant Elena Shcherbak is the latest addition to the professional team and has been with the department for 18 months. She was also previously a master’s student at Monash University. Elena moved to Melbourne from Russia in 2018.

“I was born in a small republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. When I was 18 years old I moved to Moscow to study and then, finally to Australia,” she says.

“Something I don’t think a lot of people know about me is that I used to do swimming and artistic gymnastics at a competitive level,” she says.

Previously she has worked both in the private sector and in a primary school. She enjoys the variety of work in the department and connecting with new people.

When I’m not working, I love travelling and discovering new places, and meeting new people. My dream is to go to Antarctica and see Emperor penguins,” she says.

Record number of fly-outs for successful recruitment

This year’s junior recruitment process took on unprecedented proportions and the department of Economics has recruited three excellent new lecturers. A fourth position will soon be advertised for a senior macro researcher.

Over 300 people applied to the four available positions. 60 applicants were interviewed over zoom and finally 16 researchers flew out to Monash Business School for in-person presentations and interviews.

Associate Professor Michelle Rendall was one of the senior leaders on the recruitment committee. She collaborated with Professor Sascha Becker, Professor Arthur Campbell, Associate Professor Laura Puzzello, Dr Chengsi Wang, and Head of Department Professor Michael Ward.

“It has been so nice to meet people in person, share their excitement and see them face to face. For a university in Australia, I think it is especially important to offer the candidates fly-outs so they can see what great opportunities there are here at Monash and in Melbourne. Many don’t know anything about Melbourne, they just think Australia is far away. It is also a signal that they are really interested if they are willing to go on the long journey”, says A/Prof Rendall.

The candidates would spend a few days at Monash Business School and in Melbourne, presenting their research and speaking to as many colleagues at the department as possible. All staff were then encouraged to send the recruitment committee their comments about each candidate to be taken into consideration.

“We had about 50 pages of feedback from our colleagues and we took those comments very seriously. The feedback was spread very evenly across the candidates, so it still made the decisions tricky. There were a lot of comparisons and discussions. Ultimately, we had to put aside our own personal preferences and really think about which candidates will benefit the department most,” A/Prof Rendall says.

Macro and Public Economics were this year’s top priorities for recruitment, and the level of all candidates who were offered a fly-out was very high.

In the end Maxime Gravouille from the Paris School of Economics specialised in Public Economics and Filip Primek from the University of Minnesota with a focus on Structural Industrial Organization were offered positions as lecturers at the department. They will commence their positions later in the year.

“When you are a top 50 university there is quite a narrow span of recruitment. You are not going to get the very best candidates – they’ll go to the top universities in the world. But you still want to aim very high to reflect your level of research and ambition. I think we have done very well,” she says.

What was the hardest?

“Deciding who to take in the end was very hard. We’ve had some long and tough but also very interesting discussions. Sending negative e-mails to those who didn’t’ get an offer is also hard.”

What was the most fun?

“Meeting all the young people, seeing their excitement and listening to their research.”

What surprised you most?

“The amount of work it takes when you are in a senior recruitment role. Just organising and coordinating when you have that many applicants, interviews and fly-outs is huge.”

Would you do it again?

“As frustrating and tiring as the process is, I probably would do it again. You have great conversations, and you get a lot out of it.”

The Department of Economics has announced a new executive committee supporting Professor Michael Ward as he takes on a third term in the role of Head of Department. The aim of the committee is to bring in fresh ideas and share the extensive workload.

“New people bring in new ideas and new ways of doing things. Ideally these positions become better over time as different office holders each bring their unique strengths, insights and knowledge to the role,” Professor Michael Ward says.

“The key is not to lose the knowledge when someone rotates out of a role. So, we have a careful hand-over process and try to develop processes that are clear and will persist past each handover.”

The new executive committee consists of Associate Professor Choon Wang as HDR Director, Professor Erte Xiao as Research Director, Dr Jaai Parasnis as Learning and Teaching Director, Professor Kaveh Majlesi as the Caulfield Director, Professor Zhijun Chen as the Clayton Director and Professor Nick Feltovich as the Education Director. Professor Sascha Becker and Associate Professor Vinod Mishra are both Deputy Heads.

Ms. Sue Ball continues in her role as Department Manager.

“This is a great team. I am grateful to each of them for taking on these important and challenging jobs. Many of these roles are time-intensive commitments. It is good practice to rotate these roles over time to share the load,” Professor Ward says.

“It also makes it easier to get volunteers if these are not lifetime commitments. It is helpful to have many people who understand our business model. This helps us to make better decisions collectively over time.”

Professor Erte Xiao is the new research director. Since she joined the business school in 2015 the department has made impressive achievements in its research performance.

“I have benefited greatly from the collegial and supportive research environment at Monash. By taking the role of research director, I hope to play a more active role in contributing to the success of the department in its research endeavours,” Professor Xiao says.

“The role will also help me learn more about the operation of academic organisations.”

Professor Xiao is already discussing with some colleagues the potential improvements the department can make to enhance the support for research activities. A survey will be conducted to solicit suggestions from colleagues.

“I’m new to this role so I want to welcome my colleagues to talk to me and share their thoughts, experience, and ideas,” she says.

The guiding principle in appointing the executive committee has been on a volunteer basis, even though Professor Ward admits it has in some cases required long conversations and some nudging for people to accept roles.

“One of the most important jobs of the head of department is to match people with jobs that suit abilities and preferences of staff, whether that is teaching assignments, leadership or service roles,” he says.

“As for abilities, I think we've got a really great team well suited for each role. It is helpful to have many people who understand our business model. And it helps develop people to take on the head of department role in the future.”

Professor Sascha Becker is taking on the role of deputy head alongside Dr Vinod Mishra, who is a current deputy. Sascha has previously served in the same role at Warwick University.

He sees the key objective of his new role as supporting the head of department in strategic decision-making and keeping his door open for colleagues who want to discuss department matters.

“I love senior and junior hiring. There is nothing more exciting than scouting the market for talent, that’s something I hope to achieve. And I look forward to interacting both with my Monash colleagues and job market candidates from around the world,” he says.

The Prato campus welcomes students back with successful unit

A lecture at the Prato Campus.

For the first time since the pandemic, Economics students have been able to travel to the Monash Business School campus in Prato, Italy to study, experience and enjoy both economics and the Italian way of life.

The unit ‘European Economy and Global Business'’ was taught by Teaching fellow Marco Lecci during three very intense weeks in July.

“Given the location of Australia, it’s important for students to get experiences from other places in the world,” Mr Lecci says, running the course for the first time in Prato.

“Europe is great for studying topics like democracy, sustainability and business. It gives students the opportunity to expand their horizons and maybe start thinking about getting internships and living over there for periods of time.

Students touring the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Factory.

“Because of COVID-19, this was the first time that many of them travelled to Europe, and they brought back new knowledge and ideas to Australia.”

A total of 54 undergraduate year students in their second and final year enrolled to take the unit – and all of them made it to Europe.

Usually, there is a dropout rate of around ten percent before leaving – but not this year. Classes ran for three hours a day Monday to Thursday as a workshop format with lecturing mixed with activities. Three industry excursions are included in the course.

Students visiting Piaggio Vespa.

The students visited the Piaggio Vespa factory, the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese production facility as well as the balsamic vinegar business Aceto Balsamico.

“We try to make the stay in Italy as worthwhile as possible and to show the students how these businesses are run. They are all very territorial companies and we discussed issues like Protected Designation of Origin,” he says.

Students were free to visit and travel on the weekends and many participated in the Saturday trips, organised by the Prato campus.

Students enjoying an Italian dinner.

You’re Italian. To what extent is that helpful when you work there?

“It gives a more personal touch to the unit. Being European and Italian, you have other stories to tell, not only Economics but also facts and stories about Europe and the European Union which Australian students would not be aware of,” Mr Lecci says.

“Also, it’s very easy for me to recommend what the students should see and do when they are not studying. A lot of them visited Bologna, Pisa, Milan, Venice and Rome, for instance. They used their weekends well!”

The unit will run again for three weeks in November-December of this year and next July.

As we start the year, there is a lot to celebrate in the Department of Economics as several colleagues have been awarded for their excellence in teaching or research. Congratulations to all!

Awards

• A/Prof Wayne Geerling received the Vice Chancellor's award in teaching.

  “This year’s nominees represent how educators at Monash are making a difference with their exceptional and innovative contributions to enhancing the quality of learning and teaching at Monash.”

  You can read more about A/Prof Geerling‘s popular teaching methods here.

• Dr Claudio Labanca was the Faculty Nominee for the Vice-Chancellor’s Citations for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning.
• Prof Sascha Becker won the Dean's Award for Excellence in Research.
• Dr Isaac Gross received a Dean's Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning as an Early Career Academic.
• Dr Chengsi Wang was awarded a Dean's Commendation for Excellence in Research by an Early Career Researcher.

Papers, awards, grants

• Kaveh Majlesi

  Prof Majlesi’s paper “Stock Market Returns and Consumption" won the “Distinguished Paper Award” by the American Finance Association as one of the best papers published in the Journal of Finance.

• Choon Wang

  A/Prof Choon Wang was a recipient of the Monash Business School 2022 Impact Acceleration Grants Scheme (IAGS) for his project “Delivering low-cost remote learning to children in Bangladesh”. This project is undertaken jointly with Prof Asad Islam of CDES. IAGS is designed to support researchers who show impact and engagement beyond academia.

Research Impact

The work of Prof Jeffrey LaFrance and Prof Sisira Jayasuriya on modernising horticulture in Pakistan has inspired a legislative change in the state of Punjab and drawn support from the office of the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. The hope is that the project will impact legislation throughout the country.

The project was supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. Its key recommendations include reducing the monopolistic hold of traders in Pakistan’s horticultural industry, enabling entry of more progressive-minded firms into the market, modernising value chains through increased investment in technology and innovation and prioritising smallholder farmers in any modernisation efforts.

Dr Birendra Rai becomes director of all Clayton undergraduate programs

Senior lecturer Dr Birendra Rai is the new director of all Clayton undergraduate programs for the Department of Economics.

For the past two years, Dr Rai has been the department director for the new PPE program, as well as providing overall coordination on mathematics for the Education Committee.

"I am slowly easing into my new role and will take over fully at the end of this semester. I am getting a lot of support and advice from Dr Jaai Parasnis and Dr Vinod Mishra," he says.

With the Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Economics directorship open, and with an Economics major in the Bachelor of Arts looking very likely, it makes sense to consolidate directorships for these four distinct but related degree programs.

Dr Rai has contributed to the teaching and design of the PPE program and consistently received good teaching evaluations.

"The Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics has been well received and we have 90 students this second year that it is running. What makes it special are the four core units which are co-designed and co-taught by staff in the three involved disciplines," he says.

"For instance, the first year core unit is organized around the theme of migration, and students are introduced to the core questions relating to migration that are of interest to each discipline. We are also strengthening the linkage to the Arts faculty in other ways which will hopefully encourage more Arts students to take up economics units."

He has taken the lead on both cross-unit coordination and teaching for the Department's mathematics needs.

"We plan to collect information about what kind of maths is needed for each unit in the department and what my colleagues wish they could utilise. Then we shall develop self-study materials so that students can find math resources tailored for particular units," he says.

What are you most excited about in this new demanding role?

"I don't have a strong personal preference, but I am excited about the new initiative with the Bachelor of Economics where we really hope to develop and differentiate this Bachelor from the Bachelor of Commerce. I think it will become a very attractive course for students in the near future," says Dr Rai.

He takes over from Senior lecturer Dr Jaai Parasnis as she has assumed the directorship of Learning and Teaching. The Department would like to thank Dr Parasnis for her excellent work with the BCom/BEc portfolio and for her ongoing work as Learning and Teaching Director.

How Monash Malaysia is working to empower women

Associate Professor Grace Lee Hooi Yean

Monash University Malaysia was established in 1998 and is Monash University's third largest campus, with 8400 students from approximately 78 different countries. Around 1000 students are studying business.

Associate Professor Grace Lee Hooi Yean has been the Head of Department of Economics since 2016.

"The department research focus is on developmental economics, environmental economics and increasingly on experimental and behavioural economics," says Dr Lee.

Dr Lee works collaborates closely with Professor Erte Xiao (Economics) and Professor Asad Islam, Director of the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability (CDES). Dr Lee is currently supervising five PhD students, two of which are in co-supervision with Professor Xiao and Professor Islam.

Currently there are eight staff in the department, with plans to recruit three positions at the lecturer, senior lecturer and associate professor level.

Dr Lee is also planning a joint conference with CDES, Monash Malaysia and the World Bank Malaysia, once the travel situation around COVID-19 improves.

Prior to the pandemic a number of students from Malaysia would travel to the Australian campus and Australian business students would visit Monash Malaysia for a semester of unique study experience.

"Some very popular units for the Australian students are 'Asia in the world economy' and 'Business competition and regulation' and we are developing a new unit called 'Economy of the Southeast Asian Economies'," Dr Lee says.

"It is really a goal for us to have more Australian students come to us in the future."

But the impact of COVID-19 has also given rise to new opportunities.

"When everything is online both Malaysian and Australian students can be in the same tutorials and engage through joint group work online. That's very exciting."

A recent major milestone in the department is the signing of a partnership with AIM, the largest microfinance firm in the country, to promote women's equality and empowerment.

"We are really hoping for long term collaboration and we are training female entrepreneurs in e-commerce so they can move their business online," she says.

"A lot of them are in the food and beverage business so we are also encouraging and teaching them to improve their menus and develop new products as the market changes.

"Randomised controlled trials will be carried out to study the effectiveness of the interventions."

This project is part of a larger program of empowering rural women through entrepreneurship in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

An important resource of the faculty is the School of Business Entrepreneurship and innovation hub which will participate in the project along with the department of Economics and the department of banking and finance at Monash Australia.

Delving deeper: Honours students 2021

Every year an outstanding group of students take part in the Department of Economics Honours program, an extra year of study that gives them the opportunity to challenge their ideas and delve deeper into the latest research.

Congratulations to all Department of Economics' Honour students of 2020:

Paul Boykett, Simone Pandit, Quynh Nga Do, Molly Paterson, Xiaolei Wang, Simon Ricketts, Marvin Pardillo, Christian Creed, Gregory Constantinou, Nicholas Marinucci, Muhammad Heru Wirasto, Craig Mortimer, Mustafa Kaka, Kerry Guan, Yuyun Feng, Harrison Power and Rachel Rearick.