Class of 2024

Samuel Buckland

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?

Honours is a compulsory part of the Advanced Finance and Economics program, but I chose to do the honours in economics as I am interested in pursuing a career in economics. Writing a thesis is enticing as not only will it further develop skills necessary for a career in economics, but it will be exciting to have my name attached to a piece of research that I am interested in. The courses we do in the honours year will also allow me to enrich my economics knowledge and will prepare me for future study in economics. 

What is the topic of your honours thesis?

My honours thesis investigates the impact of fasting on cognitive performance by using data from chess games during Ramadan.

What do you want to do after honours?

After completing an internship at the Reserve Bank of Australia over the summer, I have received an offer to return as a graduate which I am extremely excited to begin once completing my honours! Later down the track I'd also be interested in completing a master's program overseas. 


Mony Therayu Choun Nary

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?

After completing my undergraduate degree in economics and having a fantastic opportunity to work as a research assistant at the University of Queensland, I have developed a strong interest in macroeconomics, notably taxation, monetary economics, and competition policy. I decided to undertake an honours degree in economics because I wanted to delve deeper into the practical application of economics and challenge myself by undertaking advanced economics coursework while completing an honours thesis with a short time constraint. Additionally, an honours degree allows me to study and work under the supervision of world-class economists, and this program will equip me with the necessary solid skills and knowledge to pursue a career in economics.

What is the topic of your honours thesis?

My thesis research agenda aims to investigate Australia's business dynamic and market concentration and formulate evidence-based recommendations on firm taxation/transfer in Australia. I will be working under the supervision of Dr. Andrés Bellofatto and Dr. Begoña Domínguez to formally study how to help small firms grow across industries in Australia and investigate factors determining entry for a new business.

What do you want to do after honours?

After honours, I am interested in pursuing a career in economics research in the area of public policy before pursuing further study for a PhD in economics.


Eugene Clark

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?

I decided to undertake honours as I felt that my undergrad didn’t quite do the field justice and left me with more questions than answers. Besides broadening my career prospects and the opportunity to produce my own research, the idea of taking challenging classes with a small group of like-minded individuals appealed to me the most. 

What is the topic of your honours thesis?

My honours thesis topic is on collective sales under incomplete information. Our goal is to develop a game-theoretic model to study how a quota rule affects sequencing and full trade.

What do you want to do after honours?

I would eventually want to further my studies by doing a PhD program. In the meantime, I would like to spend a few years in industry.  


Francisco Tavares Garcia

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?

Tutoring economics courses and participating in short research experiences inspired me to pursue an academic career. The honours program will allow me to further my research by writing a thesis and should give me a small taste of what life as a researcher feels like.

What is the topic of your honours thesis?

Economic data are observed at various frequencies. While financial data can be measured daily or even at higher frequencies, GDP is usually observed quarterly at best. My thesis will explore identifying and estimating macroeconomic models that allow for these mixed-frequency sets of variables.

What do you want to do after honours?

After honours, I plan to continue researching macroeconomic models and the best ways to interpret the growing number of economic variables available to a macroeconometrician. To do that, I plan to pursue a PhD in an institution recognised for its work on time series econometrics.


Thomas Gargan

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours

I choose to study honours to further my understanding of econometrics beyond my bachelor’s degree. Furthermore, I believe that after completing honours, I will be better prepared to work in industry.

What is the topic of your honours thesis?

My honours thesis is on counterfactual analysis. This is an important economic tool that is helpful in policy analysis.

What do you want to do after honours?

After honours I want to pursue a career in industry for a few years.


Laura Ketter

What motivated/inspired me to undertake honours?

I was motivated to undertake honours because I wanted to be academically challenged and enhance my economic skillset. I have come to learn that honours is the defining year in undergraduate studies, thus I decided this is an opportunity not to miss. Further, I believe this is an excellent opportunity to immerse myself in a topic that I have a vested interest in.

What is the topic of my honours thesis?

My honours thesis focuses on labour outcomes and implications for women due to the rise in working from home. I will be using the HILDA dataset to understand differences and similarities between women and men given that they are able to work remotely and how this affects their job satisfaction, capacity/appetite for work, home labour contributions, and more.

What do I want to do after honours?

After honours I plan to go into consulting, working mostly with government clients, to help foster a more equitable society. Further into my career, I hope to undertake postgraduate study.


Kyle Montgomery

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours? 

In the first three years of my degree, I developed a strong interest for economics and was looking to delve deeper into the field. I wanted to add to my skill set and overall knowledge to improve my employability in a competitive job market, as well as gain research experience to allow me to gauge my interest in potentially pursuing a PhD or other higher degree research in the future. The school’s experienced supervisors were also a major perk, as their knowledge and experience would undoubtedly enhance my future outcomes.

What is the topic of your honours thesis? 

My honours thesis examines the inefficiencies of housing stamp duty affecting housing affordability and mobility and how its alternatives could improve economic outcomes for society. My thesis uses the ACT as a case study, which are currently midway through a 20-year reform to remove stamp duty as a revenue source for the ACT government to analyse the effect it has had on economic outcomes in the territory, and if its experiences may have policy implications for other states and territories around Australia.

What do you want to do after honours? 

Currently, I hope to gain employment in the public sector after my honours year. However, pursuing a PhD is still an option in my mind that will require further thought as I progress through the year.


Emma Searle

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?

I’m currently completing a Bachelor of Finance and Economics which has an honours component for the last year of study. I specifically decided to choose an Economics honours pathway for my final year since the economics courses were by far my favourite (especially monetary economics!). I even studied economics in high school which was where I first realised how much I enjoyed the subject. So my university experience has really just been a continuation of that initial interest and the more I learn the more I realise how many diverse problems there are to be solved in economics, which is really exciting.

What is the topic of your honours thesis?

My honours thesis looks at the impact of female breadwinning (when a woman earns more than a man in a partnership) on how that couple decides to share household and parenting responsibilities, as well as any potential impacts on short-term outcomes for their children. 

What do you want to do after honours?

After honours I plan to join the Reserve Bank of Australia’s graduate program. Over the summer I was an intern in their Economic Research team and had an amazing time working on my own project and seeing the important and insightful work that is completed throughout the Bank. I’m really excited to go back and learn even more, hopefully well-equipped with helpful skills from my Honours year!


Casper Wise

What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?

Approaching the last year of my undergraduate degree, I was searching for new exciting challenges, and the Honours program felt like a natural step towards completing the next challenge. Knowing that I would be surrounded by smart, interesting and supporting individuals inspired me further. 

What is the topic of your honours thesis?

I am currently narrowing down the topic my thesis paper will focus on. Real estate economics is a particular interest of mine, and hope to devote the rest of the year, researching relevant and new characteristics of real estate in Australia.

What do you want to do after honours?

Currently I am interested in many career opportunities. While I have no specific career pathway envisioned for myself, if I enjoy the process and techniques of academic research, I will no doubt consider PHD programs abroad. While I have nothing presently planned honours, I’m sure good fortune will fall upon me and will deliver a wonderful opportunity, where I can apply the skills I’ve learnt from Honours. Currently, I hope to gain employment in the public sector after my honours year. However, pursuing a PhD is still an option in my mind that will require further thought as I progress through the year.