Macroeconomic Theory, Policy and
Applications
Christopher Gibbs
Christian Gillitzer
James Graham
Stella Huangfu
David Kim
Mariano Kulish
Denny Lie
Aarti Singh
Matthew Smith
Graham White (Sraffian/Classical)
Nadine Yamout
International Macroeconomics
Christopher Gibbs
David Kim
Mariano Kulish
Denny Lie
James Morley
John Romalis
Graham White
Monetary Economics
Christopher Gibbs
Stella Huangfu
Mariano Kulish
Denny Lie
James Morley
Aarti Singh
Matthew Smith
David Kim
International Trade
Alastair Fraser
Mark Melatos
John Romalis
Vladimir Tyazhelnikov
Growth Theory
Graham White (Sraffian/Classical)
Economic Development
Shyamal Chowdhury
Valentina Duque
Chandana Maitra
Emilia Tjernstrom
Russell Toth
Jordi Vidal‐Robert
Public Economics
Kadir Atalay
Christian Gillitzer
Robert Slonim
History of Economic Thought
Matthew Smith
Graham White
Economic History / Conflict /
Religion
Jordi Vidal‐Robert
Econometrics
Anastasia Burkovskaya
Jian Hong
Simon Kwok
Ye Lu
Rami Tabri
Brendan Beare
Applied Microeconometrics
Deborah Cobb‐Clark
Nicolas De Roos
Rebecca Edwards
Tim Fisher
Alastair Fraser
Chandana Maitra
Stefanie Schurer
Robert Slonim
Katrien Stevens
Rebecca Taylor
Russell Toth
Marian Vidal‐Fernandez
Rebecca McKibbin
Applied Macroeconometrics
Yunjong Eo
Simon Kwok
Ye Lu
James Morley
Labour Economics
Kadir Atalay
Garry Barrett
Deborah Cobb‐Clark
Rebecca Edwards
Hayley Fisher
Stefanie Schurer
Katrien Stevens
Russell Toth
Jordi Vidal‐Fernandez
Marian Vidal‐Robert
Stephen Whelan
Rebecca McKibbin
Health, Education, and Welfare
Kadir Atalay
Stephen Cheung
Deborah Cobb‐Clark
Valentina Duque
Rebecca Edwards
Chandana Maitra
Stefanie Schurer
Robert Slonim
Rebecca Taylor
Marian Vidal‐Fernandez
Rebecca McKibbin
Human Development
Deborah Cobb‐Clark
Valentina Duque
Stefanie Schurer
Economics of the Household
Deborah Cobb‐Clark
Rebecca Edwards
Hayley Fisher
Microeconomic Theory and
Applications
Murali Agastya
Oleksii Birulin
Tim Fisher
Pablo Guillen
Jian Hong
Onur Kesten
Mert Kimya
Suraj Prasad
Abhijit Sengupta
Robert Slonim
Russell Toth (applications)
Agnieszka Tymula
Andrew Wait
Mengke Wang
Jiemai Wu
Game Theory and Applications
Murali Agastya
Oleksii Birulin
Onur Kesten
Mert Kimya
Abhijit Sengupta
Vladimir Smirnov
Matthew Smith
Jiemai Wu
Industrial Organization
Oleksii Birulin (theory)
Nicolas de Roos
Jian Hong (theory/empirical/policy)
Suraj Prasad (theory)
Abhijit Sengupta (theory)
Vladimir Smirnov
Andrew Wait (theory/policy)
Behavioural and Experimental
Economics
Anastasia Burkovskaya
Stephen Cheung
Deborah Cobb‐Clark (not experimental)
Christopher Gibbs
Pablo Guillen
Bob Slonim
Rebecca Taylor
Russell Toth
Agnieszka Tymula (also
neuroeconomics)
Agricultural / Resource /
Environmental Economics
Tiho Ancev
Shyamal Chowdhury
Alastair Fraser
Chandana Maitra
Rebecca Taylor
Russell Toth
David Ubilava
Faculty currently not available to supervise
Garry Barrett (Head of School)
Hayley Fisher (DVC Education)
Faculty on SSP or leave:
Ye Lu (on SSP 1 Aug 2021 to 31 Jan 2022)
Chris Gibbs (on SSP leave Semester 2 2021)
Jiemai Wu (on SSP from 1 August 2021 to 31 January 2022)
Valentina Duque (on SSP from 1 August 2021 to 31 January 2022)
Stefanie Schurer (on SSP leave 2021)
Here is a bit more information provided by some academics (in alphabetical order)
Tiho Ancev tiho.ancev@sydney.edu.au
Topics of interest: water economics, economics of climate change, economics of air and water pollution, energy
economics, productivity and efficiency measurement, agricultural economics, precision agriculture.
Murali Agastya murali.agastya@sydney.edu.au
Theoretical micro/game theory/applications.
Please contact directly
Kadir Atalay kadir.atalay@sydney.edu.au
Labour Economics; Public and Health Economics
Empirical projects that will utilize micro data sources to analyse inter‐relationship between policy changes and
household/individual behaviour ‐ with a focus on retirement, labour supply, consumption and health topics.
Possible topics (i) Effect of minimum wage/ macro‐economic conditions on health, ii) Should people in
Australia work longer since they are living longer?
Garry Barrett garry.barrett@sydney.edu.au
1. Topics in Labour Economics and Microeconometrics.
2. Empirical studies using Australian micro‐data (such as HILDA panel survey data, or
ABS cross‐sectional surveys) to address research questions relating to: (a) Changes in the Returns to Education
over time, (b) The Growth in Earnings Inequality, (c) Income and Consumption Poverty, (d) Consumption
Smoothing and Labour Market Shocks.
Brendan Beare: brendan.beare@sydney.edu.au
Econometric theory.
Please contact directly.
Oleksii Birulin oleksii.birulin@sydney.edu.au
procurement auctions, mergers and takeovers, corporate finance
Please contact directly
Anastasia Burkovskaya anastasia.burkovskaya@sydney.edu.au
Econometrics: identification and kernel estimation of structural models and applications
Behavioral: preference anomalies, especially decision‐making under ambiguity
Stephen Cheung stephen.cheung@sydney.edu.au
Experimental and behavioural economics
1. Experimental studies of individual decision making under risk and over time
2. Studies of mispricing and overvaluation in experimental markets for long‐lived assets
3. Other topics in experimental and behavioural economics
Shyamal Chowdhury shyamal.chowdhury@sydney.edu.au
Development economics; Agricultural economics
My current research projects include migration, microfinance, skill training, and technology adoption in
agriculture in developing countries. Please contact me to discuss possibilities.
Deborah.Cobb‐Clark deborah.cobb‐clark@sydney.edu.au
Applied topics in labour economics, family economics, and social and economic policy using large data sets. Good
knowledge of STATA is essential. Please contact directly.
Nick de Roos nicolas.deroos@sydney.edu.au
Applied microeconomic theory; Dynamic models; Industrial organization
I am open to discuss any topics in industrial organisation: applied theory or empirical.
Valentina Duque valentina.duque@sydney.edu.au
Health economics; Human Capital; Economic Development
My research centres on the determinants and consequences of early childhood health; a particular interest is in
the transmission of poverty across generations in both developed and developing countries. For more
information on my work please visit: https://sites.google.com/site/valduhe/home
Possible research questions include:
What are the short‐ and long‐term impacts of prenatal shocks on health and productivity?
The effects of social programs on children’s human capital?
A thesis supervised by me will involve empirical analysis using longitudinal or large‐scale data. Stata
knowledge is essential.
Rebecca Edwards rebecca.edwards@sydney.edu.au
Labour economics; Applied econometrics; Economics of the family; Inequality and Poverty
Potential topics: Empirical microeconomics, with a focus on fertility, labour supply and time use decisions of
men and women. The analysis would be based on one of the Australian or international readily available large
unit record data sources. Some familiarity with STATA, R, SAS or SPSS is essential.
Hayley Fisher hayley.fisher@sydney.edu.au
Labour Economics; Economics of the Household; Public Policy
Suggested topics:
Empirical microeconomics with a focus on household structure (for example, how does public policy affect the
decision to be a single parent, or to repartner) or intra‐ household resource allocation (for example, changes in
the nature and distribution of home production). One possible topic would be investigating the effect of step
parents vs birth parents on time allocation and child outcomes.
Alastair Fraser alastair.fraser@sydney.edu.au
Applied microeconomics, Environmental economics, International trade
I am particularly interested in working with students who would like to do empirical research related to energy
and resource use, climate change & low‐carbon finance, or international trade & transportation.
Christopher Gibbs christopher.gibbs@sydney.edu.au
Macroeconomic Theory, Policy and Applications, International Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics
Applied Macroeconometrics, Behavioural and Experimental Economics
Christian Gillitzer christian.gillitzer@sydney.edu.au
Macroeconomics, public economics
I am interested in discussing supervision of topics in public economics or empirical macroeconomics, particular using
cross‐sectional methods.
James Graham james.a.graham@sydney.edu.au
Quantitative and empirical topics in: macroeconomics, household finance, macro‐housing (e.g. urban, real
estate, housing finance).
I am especially interested in work using heterogeneous agent models in macroeconomics. This could include
models that study differences in household income or wealth, consumption patterns, labour market outcomes,
or homeownership and debt decisions.
Pablo Guillen pablo.guillen@sydney.edu.au
Experimental economics; Behavioural economics
1. Matching and market design experiments
2. Public Goods
3. Experimental methods, demand effects
Jian Hong jian.hong@sydney.edu.au
Empirical Auctions
Auctions are popular selling mechanisms, through which millions of goods and services are allocated every day.
The distribution of bidders’ value is the main economic primitive of interest. This project aims to identify and
estimate the distribution, either parametrically or nonparametrically. Empirical auctions have become an
active research field, due to the connection to theoretical models and to the availability of auction data. Some
markets in Australia may be good applications, such as auto auctions, property auctions. References:
Hendricks, K., & Porter, R. (2007). “An Empirical Perspective on Auctions”. In: Armstrong, M., Porter, R. (Eds.).
Handbook of Industrial Organization, vol. III. Elsevier. Laffont, J., & Vuong, Q. (1996). “Structural Analysis of
Auction Data”. American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, 86, 414–420. Athey, S., & Haile, P. (2008).
“Nonparametric Approaches to Auctions”. In: Heckman, J., Leamer, E. (Eds.).Handbook of Econometrics, vol. 6.
Elsevier, Amsterdam. Guerre, E., Perrigne, I., & Vuong, Q. (2000). “Optimal Nonparametric Estimation of First‐
price Auctions”. Econometrica, 68, 525–574.
Stella Huangfu stella.huangfu@sydney.edu.au
Monetary Economics; Macroeconomics
I am open to discuss any topics in monetary economics: theory or empirical.
David Kim kim.david@sydney.edu.au
Empirical macroeconomics; Financial Markets, Open economy macroeconomics
1. Empirical studies of economic fluctuations
2. Current account and international business cycle
3. Testing macro‐finance models
Onur Kesten onur.kesten@sydney.edu.au
Game Theory; Micro Theory:
I am particularly interested in "market design" which roughly corresponds to looking at a real-life resource allocation
problem such as an auction or matching e.g., student-college assignments, identifying its deficiencies in terms of
incentives, efficiency or fairness and proposing ways of improvement.
Mert Kimya mert.kimya@sydney.edu.au
Micro Theory, Game Theory, Decision Theory
Mariano Kulish mariano.kulish@sydney.edu.au
Macroeconomics, International Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics, Applied Econometrics
My research studies the behaviour of economies undergoing structural changes and populated by
forward‐looking individuals. I have worked on developing new techniques to solve and estimate rational
expectations models under structural changes and applying them to questions of policy relevance, such as
estimating the impact of the zero lower bound in the US and of commodity prices in Australia.
Denny Lie denny.lie@sydney.edu.au
Monetary Economics; Macroeconomics; Monetary Policy and Business Cycles; International Finance: the
Indonesian economy
Ye Lu ye.lu1@sydney.edu.au
Econometrics; Financial Econometrics
I am interested in high frequency financial econometric modelling, and applied macro‐finance research topics
ideally with a high frequency component.
Chandana Maitra chandana.maitra@sydney.edu.au
Agricultural Economics, Health Economics, Applied microeconomterics
Empirical projects that will utilize micro data sources for application to analysis of food insecurity and its
complex interlinkages with poverty, health, cognitive skills , social and emotional well‐being.
Current work on which I’d like to supervise students – ‘Triple burden of malnutrition in India’ – coexistence of
the problem of undernutrition, over nutrition and micro nutrient deficiency in the same country/household.
We’ll analyse the nature and extent of the problem, its drivers and health consequences, using Indian
Demographic and Health Survey data 1992‐2016.
Rebecca McKibbin Rebecca.mckibbin@sydney.edu.au
My research interest is in the economics of science production and the impact of scientific progress in
medicine on health outcomes. I’m currently working on several projects that use the shock created by
COVID-19 to examine the short run impact on biomedical research and physician treatment choices for noncovid related conditions. The datasets that I typically use in my research require some basic knowledge of
python and sql in addition to stata skills. Please contact me to discuss specific topics.
Mark Melatos mark.melatos@sydney.edu.au
International Economics and International Trade ‐ especially the design and/or impact of regional trade
agreements.
James Morley james.morley@sydney.edu.au
Macroeconomics, Applied Time Series Econometrics, International Finance
My research interests relate to the empirical analysis of business cycles, stabilization policy, and sources of
persistent changes in macroeconomic and financial conditions.
Suraj Prasad suraj.prasad@sydney.edu.au
Organizational Economics; Contract Theory
Topics in organizational economics with an emphasis on the provision of incentives.
John Romalis john.romalis@sydney.edu.au
International Trade; International Macroeconomics
Topics in international trade or international macroeconomics, ideally but not necessarily with an empirical
component.
Stefanie Schurer stefanie.schurer@sydney.edu.au
I will supervise topics in the field of Health Economics, Applied Econometrics, Life Course Analysis, and Cost‐
effectiveness Analysis. Due to my research focus I have a specific interest in the economics of human
development, i.e. following the evolution of human and health capital from birth into older age, and the factors
that shape this path. A thesis supervised by me is likely to involve an empirical analysis using longitudinal,
cohort or administrative data.
Examples of a possible Honours thesis are:
1. Causes and consequences of economic upward mobility/economic inequality in Australia
2. Long‐term health and productivity costs of childhood adversity
3. Testing the rational addiction model: Evidence from Australia
4. College readiness of adolescents from advantaged and disadvantaged families
For more information about my work, please visit: www.stefanie‐schurer.com
Abhijit Sengupta abhijit.sengupta@sydney.edu.au
Microeconomic theory, game theory and applications, auction theory and mechanism design
Generally speaking, I am open to supervising most topics in pure game theory or applications of game theory.
As examples, I am working with my three PhD students on (a) auction theory and mechanism design, (b)
coalition formation, and (c) on the question: why does great inequality persist in democracies? Finally, I am
also interested in evolutionary foundations of economic behaviour.
Aarti Singh aarti.singh@sydney.edu.au
Topics in empirical macroeconomics with a focus on fiscal policy.
Robert Slonim robert.slonim@sydney.edu.au
I am interested in a range of approaches to study the above topics, including a combination of theoretical,
empirical and (lab and field) experimental methods. I am currently working with several external partners
(federal and state governments, private sector) applying behavioral economics to a broad range of policy issues
across an increasingly wide range of topics, and I am interested to include motivated and energetic students in
this work.
Vladimir Smirnov vladimir.smirnov@sydney.edu.au
Industrial Organization, Dynamic games
Please contact Vladimir directly to discuss possible supervision.
Matthew Smith matthew.smith@sydney.edu.au
History of Economic Thought; Macroeconomics; Classical economics; Growth and distribution; Monetary
economics
1. Central banking policy ‐ its aims, problems and how it is conducted (can be applied and/or theoretical)
2. The effects on distribution of monetary policy
3. Demand‐led (Keynesian) growth theory and role of technical change
Katrien Stevens katrien.stevens@sydney.edu.au
Labour Economics; Applied microeconomics; Public and Social policy
Topics in empirical microeconomics, with a focus on labour economics and fertility.
1. Returns to education, impact of age at school start on cognitive skills (test scores) and non‐cognitive skills,
topics in child development.
2. Wage differentials and discrimination, evolution of income/wage inequality and driving factors,
3. Fertility decisions: role of uncertainty in income/employment, parental labour supply changes as the child
grows and the role of institutions.
Rebecca Taylor r.taylor@sydney.edu.au
Applied Microeconometrics; Environmental Economics; Agricultural & Resource Economics; Behavioral and
Experimental Economics; Food Policy
My research examines environmental and food policies aimed at altering what people consume and how people
consume. Policies of interest include regulating plastic carryout bags and containers, incentivizing recycling,
taxing soda and sugar, eco‐labeling, and healthy food nudges. To study consumer behavior, I often work with
large retail datasets, which contain information on types, quantities, and prices of items purchased. Research
questions include:


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Are these policies effective, especially when there is debate over optimal policy design?
Do these policies displace consumption in unintended ways—where the reduction of one externality
causes the growth of another?
How do these policies interact with issues of equity?
For more details see: www.rebeccataylor.site
Emilia Tjernstrom emilia.tjernstrom@sydney.edu.au
Development Economics
Russell Toth russell.toth@sydney.edu.au
Development economics
1.
Microeconomic topics in development economics. Empirical project, or a theoretical project with an empirical
component. Willing to consider broad set of topics in development economics, with particular interests in
development of the private sector (firms, access to finance and financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, market
issues, new technologies), with overlapping interests in environmental, agricultural and behavioural economics in
the context of economic development.
2.
Theoretical or empirical projects on the economics of entrepreneurship could also be feasible.
Please contact me to request reading(s) relevant to one of these topics, to request a meeting to discuss topics, or to
inquire about other topics in development economics.
Vladimir Tyazhelnikov vladimir.tyazhelnikov@sydney.edu.au
International trade
Open to supervise various topics in international trade. I am particularly interested in theoretical and empirical
analysis of trade liberalization and welfare gains from trade. Besides that I also have interests in Economic
History aspects of International Trade.
Tymula, Agnieszka agnieszka.tymula@sydney.edu.auBehavioural Economics; Experimental Economics;
Neuroeconomics
You will learn how to properly set up an experiment and the econometric tools to draw conclusions from it.
Any project on individual decision‐making (especially with focus on risk attitudes, perception of rewards and
probabilities, procrastination and self‐control) and the ultimate goal to relate insights from research to applied
work, especially in the area of policy interventions, optimal organizational and incentives design, finance,
political economics, and marketing.
Topics that I am currently working on include:
1.
implications of past experiences and the limitations of the nervous system on financial decision making.
How do we value options? How do we perceive probabilities? Why do we have biases? There is scope to
behaviourally test various predictions of a biologically realistic models of value/utility and extend existing
theory
2.
behavioural economics of disadvantage ‐ anything that has to do with understanding how to break
through the cycle of disadvantage using behavioural economics
More information at: http://www.tymula.com/agnieszka/
David Ubilava david.ubilava@sydney.edu.au
Empirical topics that apply econometric methods to investigate causal relationships between climate and
economic variables.
Jordi Vidal‐Robert jordi.vidal‐robert@sydney.edu.au
Economic History, Economics of Institutions, Religion Economics, Conflict Economics
Topics that I am currently working on include:
1. Long‐run impact of economic and political institutions on economic growth, culture and political outcomes
2. The effect of fractionalization and polarization on conflicts
3. Reasons for the emergence and evanescence of Zipf’s law and the distribution of population across cities.
Open to discuss any other ideas. Examples: the effects of convict immigration in Australia, religion conflicts in a
European (non‐European) context, …
Marian Vidal‐Fernandez m.vidal‐fdez@sydney.edu.au
Empirical Microeconomics, Human Capital, Labour Economics.
My main focus of research analyses the determinants of human capital formation in babies, children and young
adults that affect productivity in adulthood as measured by educational attainment, wages, crime and health.
These include but are not limited to:
1. Soft skills such as personality
2. Hard skills (test scores)
3. Health
4. Family conditions and environment such as birth order or suffering the death of a family member
5. Policies affecting teenager’s behaviour towards their allocation of time between studying and leisure.
6. Fertility and female labour force participation.
For more details on my work please see www.marianvidalfernandez.com
Andrew Wait andrew.wait@sydney.edu.au
Industrial Organization
1. Decision making in organisations. The project would involve an empirical and possibly theoretical analysis
of the decision making in organisations. For example, when does an organisation use consultation (and
extension communication) in the decision making process, and when is a decision more likely to be made
by one person? Cross‐country comparisons of decision making in Australia and other countries are also
possible.
Data source: Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, Workplace Employment Survey (UK), Enquête
Response (France).
References:
Acemoglu, D., P. Aghion, C. Lelarge, J. Van Reenen & F. Zilibotti 2006, ‘Technology, Information and the
Decentralization of the Firm’, mimeo.
Delmastro, M. (2002), `The determinants of the management hierarchy: evidence from Italian plants',
International Journal of Industrial Organization, 20, 119‐137.
Kieron Meagher & Andrew Wait 2007, ‘Big Decisions and Little Fish: Theory and Evidence on Competition,
Uncertainty and Delegation in Firms’, mimeo
2. Innovation in Australian businesses. Using the Business Longitudinal Survey and the Innovation in
Australian Business Survey, analyse innovation in Australian workplaces.
Mengke Wang mengke.wang@sydney.edu.au
Decision theory and its application in games. Individual decision making with bounded rationality, rational inattention
and other-regarding preferences.
Stephen Whelan stephen.whelan@sydney.edu.au
Applied Econometrics and Labour Economics; Applied economics; Labour economics; Public policy; Social
policy
1. Are women working to pay off the mortgage?
Fortin, N.M (1995), 'Allocation Inflexibilities, Female Labor Supply, and Housing Assets Accumulation: Are
Women Working to Pay the Mortgage?' JOLE 13(3), pp. 524‐57.
2. The effect of crime on happiness
The project will consider what effect, if any, the gradual increase in the age pension age for women in Australia
has had on labour market outcomes, especially participation in paid employment.
Data source ‐ HILDA
Frey, B.S. and Stutzer, A. (2002a), ‘What can economists learn from happiness research?’ Journal of Economic
Literature 40, 402–35. Note that this article includes some additional references to general literature reviews
about happiness.
Jiemai Wu jiemai.wu@sydney.edu.au
Microeconomic theory, game theory, and applications
I am particularly interested in studying the following topics from a theoretical perspective:
1. social learning
2. persuasion
3. self‐control and addiction
Nadine Yamout nadine.yamout@syndey.edu.au
Applied macroeconomics, open economy macroeconomics, and fiscal policy