Research strengths

Behavioural / experimental economics

Researchers

Elias Khalil, Pushkar Maitra, Vai-Lam Mui, Yew-Kwang Ng, Birendra Rai

Behavioural economics studies how psychological considerations affect economic behaviour, while the methodology of experimental economics allows researchers to use controlled economic experiments to study issues ranging from market design to environmental economics, strategic interactions, and behavioural economics. In the area of behavioural economics, Monash researchers study the importance of framing effects, happiness, and social preferences. In the area of experimental economics, Monash researchers use the facility of Monash Laboratory for Experimental Economics (MonLEE) to study corruption, decision-making under uncertainty, microfinance and economic development, and the political economy of collective resistance.

Transition economics

Researchers

James Ang, Dietrich Fausten, Gennadi Kazakevitch, Yew-Kwang Ng, Siang Ng He-Ling Shi, Russell Smyth.

Research on transition economies has focused on the People’s Republic of China and the former Soviet Union. Research in this area has focused on myriad topics including enterprise restructuring, labour market restructuring and comparisons between China and India. Members of the group have worked with leading research institutions in China; most notably Beijing University, Renmin University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, won ARC funding and engaged extensively in consulting for agencies such as AusAID, Asian Development Bank and World Bank..

Economics of transport and tourism

Researcher

Peter Forsyth

Peter Forsyth is one of the top researchers in Australia in the economics of air transport and tourism. He has received invitations to give keynote addresses at international conferences and from agencies such as the ACCC, the Productivity Commission and World Bank. He has completed extensive consultancy work, has a significant publications record and has raised large amounts of external funding including ARC Discovery Grants.

Increasing returns and economic organisation

Researchers

Dietrich Fausten, Vai-Lam Mui, Siang Ng, Yew-Kwang Ng, He-ling Shi, Christis Tombazos, Ian Wills, Wenli Cheng, Simon Angus

Researchers have very strong publications in high-prestige outlets. They have the ability to secure large amounts of external funding, including multiple ARC Discovery grants and they enjoy an impressive international reputation. Their contributions to the areas of mesoeconomics (Yew-Kwang Ng) and inframarginal analysis have attracted worldwide attention, and have brought large numbers of high-quality PhD students to the Department of Economics.

Public Economics

Researchers    

Ranjan Ray, Russell Smyth, Yew-Kwang Ng, Asadul Islam, Ratbek Dzhumashev

Topics researched in this area include Taxation, Inequality and Poverty Measurement, Child labour, Analysis of Crime and Corruption Statistics. Ranjan Ray who is in the principal researcher in this area has held several ARC and ILO funded research projects on these issues involving welfare analysis with implications for the design of public policy. He is currently working on  a Faculty funded research project on the determinants and effects of crime and corruption.