The Donald Cochrane Postgraduate Research Scholarship, created to honour the Faculty of Business and Economics foundation dean, the late Professor Donald Cochrane, has been awarded to three recipients for 2009.  Gang Chen from the Centre for Health Economics, Julia Polak from the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics and Christina Wai Wong-Lim from the Department of Accounting and Finance were this year’s recipients.

The Cochrane Scholarship is awarded annually to the most outstanding full-time PhD candidates conducting research in any of the business disciplines and is one of Monash University’s most prestigious awards.

“The availability of this scholarship enhances our faculty’s ability to attract the best students and furthers our reputation as a leading centre of research across a range of business disciplines,” Professor Stephen King said.

Gang’s research focuses on the nexus between health investment and economic growth and hopes his research will be helpful to public policy makers, especially in developing countries. “This award means a great deal to me and I want to thank the Cochrane family for this incredible honour and kind, ongoing encouragement for younger researchers.”

Julia’s research focuses on improving the forecasting capabilities of statistical models which she hopes will help to avoid economic collapses in the future. “Being awarded this scholarship has created a great opportunity for me to study at Monash University and focus on my research, setting aside the day to day financial worries.”

Christina’s research focuses on the effect of mandatory disclosure regulations and securities rules on performance outcome. “As a mature student, this scholarship has made it possible for me to engage in research on a full-time basis.”

The late Professor Donald Cochrane, a distinguished economist, was founding dean of the Faculty of Economics and Politics (now Business and Economics) at Monash University and held office from 1961 to 1981.

This three-year scholarship is tenable by a full-time PhD candidate conducting research in any of the business disciplines. Applicants need to be graduates with first-class honours in a relevant area of business or commerce.

Photo:  Dr Andrew Cochrane, Professor Kim Langfield-Smith, Deputy Dean Research, Julia Polak, Christina Wai Wong-Lim, Gang Chen and Stephen King.