Our Research

Research represents an integral part of the School of Economics and Public Policy, and we proudly explore a diverse range of topics and areas, including big data analyses, behavioural and experimental analysis, and applied economics in resources, agriculture, development, and trade. The school is recognised as ‘Above World Standard for Research Excellence'.

Research themes

Given the inherent interactions between economic research themes, we aim to identify our research focus areas by purpose and have highlighted some of these below.

Economic and public policy

Research in this area aims to understand the overall state of the economy and how it can be influenced by government intervention. The research focuses on the identification of the factors influencing income, employment levels, and welfare. It also investigates how government policy should be designed in an increasingly globalised world. Emphasis includes monetary policy, tax policy, education, poverty and welfare, delivery of public services, health economics, and economic development.
Economic growth, development and trade

Research explores the disparities observed in the level of wealth and in the rate of economic growth among nations. Our research focuses on improving the well-being of the poor by understanding and analysing the role of international trade and technological changes. The research contributes to the fields of macroeconomics, development economics, international trade, and economic history.
People, behaviour and choices

Our research in this area focuses on understanding the choices made by individuals and businesses while accounting for own preferences, self-interest, limited resources, and asymmetric information. The areas of specialisation include behavioural economics, mechanism design, experimental economics, game theory, social networks, and social choices. The behavioural economics group hosts the experimental laboratory (AdLab).
Agri-food, water and environmental systems

Our research addresses economic, policy, agribusiness and social issues affecting global food systems, targeting the following research areas: food policy; international development; food system innovation; water policy; healthy societies; and resilient landscapes. In addition, we connect relevant partners ranging from industry organisations and enterprises to government institutions and policy makers. This improves translation and uptake of research.
Econometric methods and applications

Our research in this theme uses state-of-the-art econometric and statistical techniques to identify and quantify various socio-economic models. Topics of emphasis include the identification and estimation of treatment effects models, social networks, and trade models; and the evaluation of economic, education, health and environmental policies. The research also encompasses the development of new statistical methods to guide governments and businesses in the formulation of effective environmental and economic policies based on the exploitation of large datasets.