Class of 2023
Jason Adams
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
For me, honours is an excellent opportunity to delve deeper into the economics of the 'real-world'. So far, the honours programme has allowed me to really sink my teeth into a full-on, proper research project and also to engage in a much more detailed study of what was covered in my economics degree, both of which I feel have provided me with significant practical and theoretical skills with which I can jump-start my career.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My thesis topic is on price dispersion in the Australian electricity retail market. Basically, despite the significant homogeneity between the services provided by electricity retailers, there still persists a large amount of variation in prices between electricity plans. Our goal is to study the magnitude of this price dispersion across states and time and to determine whether certain policy instruments affected the dispersion in any way.
What do you want to do after honours?
Just as when I was considering entering honours, I am still looking to continue my studies and engage in more in-depth research. As such, I am adamant that I look to complete further postgraduate studies and to move towards completing a PhD. In the shorter-term, however, I also hope to engage in policy-related work so as to better solidify my career path.
Gabriel Beaumont
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I chose to study honours to extend myself further than my bachelors degree. The undertaking of a thesis and research in general is a rare opportunity that allows you to delve deeply into a topic that interests and excites you. The small cohort and academic rigour also motivated me to take part in honours.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My thesis experimentally examines pollution markets and the comparative advantages between different supply mechanisms for tradeable permits.
What do you want to do after honours?
I am looking for work in policy or consulting opportunities across Australia or Europe
Joshua Grice
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
My primary motivation for undertaking Honours was to invest long-term in my capacity to meaningfully solve the world’s most pressing problems. I am convinced that the additional year will greatly deepen my economic understanding, accelerate my technical abilities, and develop new research skills by studying more advanced coursework, pursuing my own original research thesis, and interacting closely with both faculty and peers.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My honours thesis focuses on the subliminal effects of presentation style in economics education. It investigates the impact of various treatments on learner performance, engagement, and decision making in an experimental environment, with implications for behavioural economic theory and teaching practice.
What do you want to do after honours?
After honours, I am planning to continue my career working in economic consulting and public policy. However, I would also be open to exploring postgraduate study pathways after a couple of years in industry.
Mengfan Long
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
My motivation to take honours is that I want to have a deep learning of the area that I am interested in and I think writing a thesis related to it under the guidance of a supervisor can be truly helpful. Also honours year is also a good chance to learn both advanced economics and statistics knowledge.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My honours thesis is about how to use mixture models in analysing high-dimensional data especially in financial area.
What do you want to do after honours?
After honours I want to pursue a higher degree in fields like statistics, advanced maths and economics in the United States or UK.
Patrick Mead
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours
In the beginning of Aristotle's Metaphysics, he attributes to us an innate desire to understand and a natural force towards knowledge. This desire or force is what we commonly call curiosity. There is an old proverb which highlights the importance of enabling curiosity to its fullest extent. In the words of Alexander Pope, "A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again." In Greek Mythology, the Pierian Spring granted the drinker great knowledge. My passion for exploring this curiosity and following this proverb has led me to pursue Economics Honours
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
We wish to incorporate incomplete and nontransitive preferences into Games of Love and Hate, which are normal form games generated from strategic situations wherein an agent's utility is a function of their action and the utility of every other agent. It has been shown by Ray and Vohra that the Nash equilibra of these games are Pareto optimal. Similar results in our setting are desirable.
What do you want to do after honours?
The Honours program offers a rich array of opportunities for graduates, equipping them with the highly valued analytical and critical thinking skills needed across numerous industries, such as finance, consulting, and government. As for myself, I cannot predict what path I will follow after completing the program, but If I remain fortunate enough to follow my curiosity then I shall.
Oscar Pollack
What motivated/inspired me to undertake honours?
I was motivated to take honours because I wanted to extend my economic knowledge and have the ability to undertake a thesis, both of which are very important skills in today’s world. I also felt that having an extra year of study under my belt would be beneficial at this point in my career.
What is the topic of my honours thesis?
My thesis is looking at the relation between community sports and crime in an economic context, as there is a large amount of research on the association between the two in a European context, but none in an Australian context.
What do I want to do after honours?
After honours concludes I am looking forward to continuing at transport and infrastructure consulting firm NineSquared, where I have worked for the last two years.
Joel Rabenhorst
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
After completing a Bachelors of Mathematics and Economics here at UQ, I’m excited to join the Economics Honours program to explore more advanced economics concepts, learn new quantitative tools for effective economic analysis, and gain further research experience in preparation for graduate study in economics. I look forward to learning from experienced academic researchers and to working alongside a group of motivated economics students.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My thesis project extends industrial organisation theory and search theory to characterise optimal business strategies for setting prices, searching for buyers, and choosing whether to sell. In the project models, businesses have continuous inventory holdings of multiple units and face a variety of different consumer demand structures and pricing strategies from other market participants such as suppliers or retailers. I expect the findings of my thesis will be useful to analyse situations where businesses sell to customers sequentially and have large or divisible inventory holdings.
What do you want to do after honours?
After completing the Honours program, I plan to study a PhD in economics with a goal to become an academic research economist.
Benjamin Stephens
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I made the decision to undertake honours fairly late in my undergraduate Economics degree, so it certainly wasn’t in my plans all along. I decided to do honours because I felt it gave me the most rigorous training for a career as an Economist and allowed me to keep my options open.
I studied Economics in high school and really enjoyed the writing components of the International Baccalaureate program, and felt the thesis was a great opportunity to do some research I was interested in and give me a taste of academia and further study.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My honours thesis is investigating declining business dynamism and productivity in Australia and aims to make recommendations on firm taxation policy. I also get to use the ABS’ micro-level dataset on all Australian firms, called BLADE, which I’m super excited about.
What do you want to do after honours?
I spent the summer interning at the Reserve Bank of Australia in their Central Bank Digital Currency team and have an offer to return there as a graduate. Further study, most appealing to me is an overseas master’s program, is something I am also keen on doing at some point.
Theo Gibbons
Guan-Jia Huang
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
Research is rewarding to me, and after three years of studying finance and economics, I would like to spend my final year of undergrad creating my own research project and publishing it. The challenging honours coursework will moreover bring my understanding of the subject to the next level and prepare me for a career in economics.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My honours thesis topic is about how the existence of uninformed traders in the presence of informed traders affects the information efficiency in a financial market.
What do you want to do after honours?
Eventually I would like to do a PhD program, however before doing so I may work a few years in industry.
Class of 2022
Greg Levy
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
For me, my decision was always about the opportunity to do a thesis - I really wanted to get a chance to work at the frontier of economic knowledge and see if there were any interesting questions that haven't been looked into yet, of which there are plenty!
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My thesis is centred around looking at the problem that people face when trying to coordinate to protest or even overthrow an authoritarian regime. In particular, I'm looking at how salient choices (options that stand out) help people coordinate their actions to achieve better outcomes for all decision-makers.
What do you want to do after honours?
I'm planning to go further into research in coordination problems by doing post-graduate study in Europe.
Patrick Elkington
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I was motivated to undertake honours to conduct an original piece of research that would allow me to further develop my analytical skills. I believe this opportunity, combined with studying economics at a more challenging level, will provide me with a rewarding experience and further develop skills required to be a successful economist.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My honours thesis investigates at the evolution and determinants of firm mark-ups in Australia, and the potential impacts that this has on aggregate productivity.
What do you want to do after honours?
I am very excited to have accepted a role as an Economics and Finance Graduate at the Reserve Bank of Australia after completing an internship at the RBA over the summer break.
Kate Green
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
My goal was to come out of Honours with much stronger research skills and a deeper knowledge of economic frameworks and their practical applications. I was also excited that I could combine the psychology major of my Arts degree with economics through a behavioural economics thesis.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
As alluded to, my research topic looks at how norms develop and shift. I'll be working with Dr Vera te Velde and Dr Zachary Breig to try to develop a better understanding of whether individuals choose to coordinate with others even if it is against their personal preference.
What do you want to do after honours?
After Honours I'm hoping to make my own difference in the world of public policy, whether that is through the public or private sector. I can see myself furthering my studies with a PhD one day, but I would love to have some time in the industry first.
Sheryl Lim
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I developed a strong passion and interest for economics during my bachelor’s degree and was keen to dive deeper into the field, particularly in behavioural economics and game theory. I wanted to be fully equipped with the knowledge and skills to be qualified as an economist. At the same time, I wanted to gain some research experience to determine whether pursuing a PhD in the future is something I want to do. Upon having conversations with my previous lecturers, the Honours program was my clear answer. It is the perfect avenue for me to deepen my understanding of economics as well as to be able to utilise my interest in game theory and challenge my research capabilities.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My thesis aims to determine the optimal relay strategy in athletics and swimming. This involves experimenting various relay team orders in the field and pool. I aim to identify which of these is the best, and why some strategies work better than others. It is a fun and interesting project involving behavioural economics and formal contest theory.
What do you want to do after honours?
I am open to anything! I am interested in working in the microeconomics field, particularly in consulting. However, I am also not averse to the idea of pursuing a PhD, as I am currently really enjoying my research project. I will hopefully be able to come to a decision closer the end of this Honours year.
Hao Wan
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I wanted to challenge myself by studying advanced economic theories and completing a thesis under the supervision of experienced economists. Honours seemed the perfect way to prepare for higher-level studies, which I am interested in pursuing, and also offered an exciting opportunity to learn with like-minded students in a small cohort.
What is the topic of your honour’s thesis?
My thesis uses an experimental approach to investigate how players’ behaviour in repeated auctions is affected by winning or losing by a small margin in the previous rounds.
What do you want to do after honours?
After honours, I would like to pursue a postgraduate degree in the UK or the US.
Austin Smidt
What motivated and or inspired you to undertake honours?
I like writing and I wanted to do a large research component before graduating UQ.
I am completing Economics Honours as my last year of a Bachelor of Advanced Finance and Economics and chose it because I preferred the potential applications of economics. Several topics covered in the honours courses also interested me. Some of these are applications of optimal control to macroeconomic modelling, mechanism design and dynamic contracts in heterogeneous agent models which are in Macro A, Micro B and Macro B respectively.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My thesis is on optimal unemployment insurance in Australia. I am looking at improving the NewStart program and other similar welfare programs for those out of work. My approach involves calibrating a theoretic model to the Australian economy. I may also look at an empirical side in determining specific groups’ elasticity of unemployment with regards to the level of benefits. This is one of many determinants in what the differences in benefits between parents, those with disabilities and people living at home should be.
What do you want to do after honours?
After honours I want to be happy. My interests are in the application of economics to public policy and strategic decision making. I think our society can be drastically improved through applying economic insights to encourage sustainable growth at local levels in terms of infrastructure up to federal policies that determine the direction of our nation. Economics is the study of scarce resources, so I think it could also be important in the future with climate change. Finally, I will add that I am happy now, I just want to still be happy in the future :)
Timothe Pegna
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I chose to do honours because I felt that there were still many unanswered economic questions that I wanted to explore after finishing my bachelors degree, and I wanted to delve a bit deeper into the more rigorous and complex part of economics. I also knew that the skills that I would gain through both the honours courses and the thesis would be invaluable for my career in the future, whether that be industry or academia.
What is the topic of your honour’s thesis?
In my thesis, I take an environmental perspective to study the market for lithium, which is a key mineral needed to produce electric vehicle batteries. Using a game theoretic approach, I will try to gain new theoretical insights into the current state of the market, their implications for its competitiveness, and whether they are supported empirically.
What do you want to do after honours?
I am fortunate to have been offered work at an economic consulting firm after I graduate from my honours degree. I plan to work a few years in industry but remain very open to the idea of undertaking a PhD in the future.
Elliot Hiller
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I greatly enjoyed my undergraduate studies in economics, and I am interested in potentially pursuing a career in economic research. As a result, the opportunity provided by economics honours to gain hands-on experience in research was highly appealing to me.
What is the topic of your honour’s thesis?
My thesis intends to investigate the outcome of security-bid auctions when there are competing sellers and risk aversion amongst bidders.
What do you want to do after honours?
I am interested in pursuing a career in economic research. I would like to pursue a PhD program after gaining some work experience.
Raul Leon Petersen
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
Wanting to learn more advanced topics such as asymptotic theory and game theory at an advanced level was one of the main reasons. In addition, researching seemed like a fulfilling lifestyle (at that point I hadn’t done any type of formal research). I didn’t know if I was going to like it. Honours seemed to be the perfect opportunity to submerge myself in an academic atmosphere and decide if I indeed wanted to pursue a PhD.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
The broad idea is to study the impact of having some extremely talented/gifted students (“superstars”) or of having a cluster of bad students (“rotten apples”) in a classroom in high school on remaining students’ short-and long-term outcomes. The challenge will consist in identifying the channels in which the peer effects do their magic.
What do you want to do after honours?
I will probably pursue either a pre-doc or a master's in applied mathematics depending on the focus of my future research. Maybe even undergo a PhD directly (with a little bit of luck).
Matthew Burgin
Kuangyu Sang
Charlotte Newton
Class of 2021
Harry Pofke
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I was motivated to undertake honours primarily because I wanted to apply the concepts and techniques that I learnt throughout undergrad on an actual research project. Additionally, being able to be supervised by a professional economist is pretty exciting and it’s a great opportunity to see if I enjoy research enough to pursue a PhD.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My honours thesis is in the intersection of applied microeconometrics and migration/refugee studies. Specifically, I’m exploring the impact of immigration detention on economic outcomes of refugees.
What do you want to do after honours?
My next step after honours is still undecided. I’m looking into graduate positions in a range of areas – from economic consulting to international development to government economist positions. I’m still also contemplating undertaking a PhD. I think in the long-term however I want to work on fiscal policy.
Man Hin (Iris) Chio
What motivated/inspired you to undertake honours?I decided to do honours because this is a great opportunity to challenge myself and conduct my own research. I am particularly interested in macroeconomics. Undertaking honours will certainly deepen my understanding in this field.
What’s the topic of your honours thesis?
I am studying the performance of young businesses and start-ups in Australia during the pandemic and estimating the employment loss under different scenarios.
What do you want to do after honours?
At this moment, I have not made any decisions yet. But I would like to pursue a PhD program after honours.
Matisse Clark
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I was motivated to immerse myself in a specific research project and produce an academic paper for my final year of university, under the guidance of a team of experienced economists. I believe this year will provide me with a rewarding challenge, alongside a cohort of likeminded students.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My honours thesis is an experimental investigation on individual decision making, focussed on routine based behaviour. Often, we consider the aim of routines is to create efficiencies and provide structure for regular activities, however sticking to routines may lead to less than optimal outcomes when individuals do not adapt to acting opportunistically when presented with alternative activities.
What do you want to do after honours?
I am very excited to be commencing full time work as a Research Associate at Hyperion Asset Management in 2022 after having worked with the team during my final two years of university studies.
Kai O'Neill
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
Throughout my undergraduate degree I developed a passion and appreciation for economics and wished to take my learning further. Honours seemed to be the perfect way to better explore the complexities of the subject and improve my understanding, and I’m glad I chose to pursue it.
What’s the topic of your honours thesis?
Creating a personalised life expectancy model by applying survival analysis to panel data. I’m using household and individual level data from the HILDA dataset to analyse the effects of various social and economic factors on mortality. Currently there is a lot of population level data on life expectancy, but by including individual level data I hope to create more accurate personalised estimates.
What do you want to do after honours?
I’m hoping to further my education by attaining a masters degree, hopefully at UQ. I’m still uncertain as to what specific area of economics I’ll pursue, but I know that my honours year will help me identify exactly where my interests and abilities lie. After education I hope to work with public policy in some capacity, as I know that properly applied economics holds enormous potential to address some of the most difficult policy issues of today.
Elyse Dwyer
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I wanted to challenge myself and learn higher-level concepts to what is taught in undergrad. I was also interested in doing research for my final year and thought Econ Honours would be a great way to do so.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
I am working with Assoc. Professor Begoña Dominguez and Dr Andres Bellofatto in studying the sources of the productivity advantages that firms in denser areas have over firms within Australia’s regions, distinguishing between competitive selection mechanisms and agglomerative externalities.
What do you want to do after honours?
I hope to work for a couple of years in industry before considering a PhD in Economics, I have secured a graduate role within the field of Economics/Finance which I will be commencing next year.
Taiga Saito
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I found more of the unknown that interests me as I studied more econometrics in undergraduate courses. I thought the honours year would be an ideal opportunity to better understand the theory and application of these unknowns through a self-driven econometrics research paper.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My thesis aims to apply a machine learning method to investigate causal factors that explain the more significant sex differences in STEM fields in more gender-equal countries.
What do you want to do after honours?I would like to pursue a PhD to conduct research ideally in the field of econometrics theory.
Ashan Piyaratne
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I really enjoyed studying economics as an undergraduate and wanted to learn more about how to apply those skills in research and hypothesis testing. The honours program was a good opportunity to learn economics at a more advanced level and give a good hint of what academic life would be like. I was particularly keen to work on a thesis and be able to use econometrics and data analytics on a big dataset and to face a challenge which will be undoubtedly rewarding when finished.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
I am currently completing my thesis in behavioural economics and focusing on investigating the external and internal factors that affect how and why individuals exhibit dishonest behaviour. The ambition of my project is to use a large real-world dataset to paint a comprehensive picture of why and when people engage in dishonest behaviours and to test how the current theoretical frameworks available in literature fits within a real-world setting. This project exploits a large and unique dataset from Chess.com, one of the largest online gaming platforms and consisting of over 50 million users. With over 300,000 users banned for cheating, it provides the ideal environment to study cheating and dishonesty in a real-world setting.
What do you want to do after honours?I am interested in working in economics particularly in public policy in both public and private sectors to apply economics and quantitative analysis to gain evidence-based insights to optimise decision making on meaningful projects.
Robert Coulter
Peter Limerick
Justin Strong
Callen Van den Elst
Declan Curran
Liam Falconer
James Ghusn
Zachary Hayward
Declan Hunt
Class of 2020
Kieran Gibson
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
My undergraduate degree in Economics and Mathematics helped me realise my passion for both teaching and academic rigour. I particularly enjoyed tutoring ECON2030, ECON2050, ECON2070, and ECON3010, grounding my knowledge in microeconomics and game theory. As honours year provides opportunities to continue both learning and tutoring, it was the obvious stepping stone from undergrad to postgrad in my academic career.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My thesis combines behavioural economics and game theory. It is an experimental project that aims to investigate how people treat good behaviour if the underlying intention is revealed to be selfish.
What do you want to do after honours?
Whilst my post-honours plans are yet to be confirmed, I know I have discovered a genuine passion for teaching and academia. I’d like to continue exploring postgraduate study options, working towards completing a PhD that I can use to take my teaching career to the next level.
Jiachen Han
What motivated/inspired you to undertake honours?
I took honours because I wanted to do research and create model/design on my own by applying the knowledge I acquired in my undergrad degree. I want to do what economists do before I finally get into work in this field. And of course, the honours degree comes with advanced economics courses, group discussions and teamwork, as well as a lot of meeting with my mentor, which surely gives me insight into economics and a distinctive edge in my career.
What’s the topic of your honours thesis?
Currently I’m doing an experimental economics topic where I measure hetereogenosity personal norms and how it’s influenced by social pressure with the help on online experimental platform.
What do you want to do after honours?
I want to find a job in Australia for a few years before I get to UK/USA for postgraduate/phd.
Liam Hickey
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I decided to do Honours to broaden my career prospects, undertake more concentrated study alongside a smaller cohort, and to gain the experience of doing an in depth research project in the form of the honours thesis.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My thesis is in the area of environmental economics, supervised by Professor Flavio Menezes.
I am looking at how a program such as the Queensland Government's Land Restoration Fund can best overcome asymmetric information problems to allocate funds efficiently.
What do you want to do after honours?
After Honours, I will aim to use the skills I've learnt to analyse real-world economic problems and hopefully bring some clarity to some of the complex challenges facing Australia and the world in the 21st century.
I will be working in the private sector next year, and I hope to undertake further study overseas at some stage.
Minh Thang Pham
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I feel that the time spent on undergraduate courses was too short for me to understand the essence of Economics. Thus, I took Honours for a chance to further broaden my knowledge, polish my skills and most importantly, to immerse myself in academic research. It is also a great pleasure to be able to work with other brilliant students who share the same interests in Economics as myself.
What’s the topic of your honours thesis?
For my thesis, I am studying whether certain characteristics of an industry can affect small firms' contribution to employment growth in Australia.
What do you want to do after honours?
At the moment, I still haven't got any solid plans in mind yet. To me, the future holds infinite possibilities. However, I would love to pursue a career in academia or private sector.
Nguyen Bang Chau Hoang
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I have been desiring to be engaged in a thesis that relates to applied econometrics. Undertaking Honours not only helps me pursue my aspiration but also improve and expand my skills and understanding in the relevant field of study. I believe this Honours year undoubtedly brings me rewarding challenges and valuable lessons that I possibly missed during my undergraduate years.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
My Honours thesis examines the use of skewed filters to decompose property prices.
What do you want to do after honours?
I would love to undertake a PhD program and continue researching the topics of my interests in both economics and econometrics.
Nicholas Markovitch
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I chose to undertake honours as I wanted to conduct my own research and produce an academic paper under the supervision of an experienced economist. I was also motivated by the fact that I would be studying alongside a small cohort of like-minded students.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
I am investigating the nature of firm growth in Australia. In particular, I am looking at the relative contribution of ex-ante factors towards the size distribution of Australian firms.
What do you want to do after honours?
I am still undecided but I am interested in pursuing a career in the public sector or academia.
Sally Rafter
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
I was motivated by the opportunity to produce an original, self-directed research piece that would allow me to bring together and enhance the analytical skills I have learned in my undergraduate economics courses.
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
I am working on an experimental thesis that examines the effect of bid-preferences on reverse-auction outcomes when bidders are asymmetric.
What do you want to do after honours?
I am very excited to have accepted a role as an Economics and Finance Graduate at the Reserve Bank of Australia in Sydney for 2021 after having completed an internship there over summer.
Lucas Carter
Jeremy Lwin
Bing Xian Lee
Class of 2019
Josephine Auer
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I’ve always been someone that really enjoys uni, and have found myself wanting to come back to the academic side of things after completing internships in the business world. Now that I’m in my final year of the BAFE degree, I feel I’ve really found my passion in microeconomics, and so have loved the opportunity to take some more advanced courses in this area and explore some interesting aspects of game theory in my thesis."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I’m working on an experimental paper that considers the effect of different reverse auction mechanisms on strategic bidding behaviour and efficiency outcomes. This analysis is motivated by the use of such auctions - particularly in the public sector - in allocating various rights and goods for which standard markets do not exist."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I’m still yet to decide on my plans next year! I had a wonderful experience interning with the RBA last year, and have the opportunity to return there next year as an Economics and Finance Graduate. However, I really do enjoy the academic side of things and have loved taking some of the more challenging economics courses with such an inspiring group of peers, so feel I am perhaps not yet done with uni! After taking some graduate mathematics courses next year, I think I’ll have more of an idea about whether a career in the public-sector will be a good fit for me, or whether entering a postgraduate degree in economics may better align with my interests."
Elizabeth Baldwin
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I wanted the opportunity to study economics at a deeper, more challenging level than was possible during my undergraduate degree."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I am studying the effect of private health insurance on health status."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I am planning to pursue a career in the public service, using the tools of economics for the common good."
Laurence Bristow
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"It was part of my Bachelor of Advanced Finance and Economics undergraduate degree. I always planned to major in economics as I believe the time spent completing the thesis component and being around high-achieving, like-minded people is invaluable."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"My thesis topic addresses the changing health needs of Australians and subsequent implications for healthcare workforce planning."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I was fortunate enough to be offered a position at a leading public institution, where I will begin employment at the conclusion of my studies."
Steve Charlton-Henderson
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"My undergraduate degree didn’t satisfy my curiosity so I wanted to explore economics further and challenge myself. I also wanted to gain the experience of participating in an original research project."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I am looking at self-reporting firms and their preferences over penalty structures."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I would like to work in consulting. I have a particular interest in working on projects with an environmental and/or natural resources aspect."
Sally Duncan
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"One of the attractive aspects of the BAFE degree is the chance to gain a well-rounded education in both finance and economics, and then specialise in fourth year. I've been planning on majoring in economics since I began my studies, and this year allows me to focus on health economics - which is my passion. I was also keen to meet students who had completed other degrees and were interested in the same national and international issues I was."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"My honours thesis is on the hospital expenditure of pre-dialysis CKD patients in Queensland."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I was lucky enough to gain a graduate position in private industry after completing a summer vacation program, and I’m keen to head out and apply the skills I’ve learned over the past four years to analyse a variety of sectors in the economy."
Jessica Dunphy
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"During my undergrad, I often felt unchallenged and like I didn’t have the opportunity to more fully develop my interest in how economics can be applied to real-world problems. Honours seemed the perfect opportunity to delve into a research topic in-depth."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"My thesis looks at whether minimum wage increases in the US are effective in reducing renter eviction rates."
What do you want to do after honours?
"After Honours, I will be pursuing a career in the public sector, where I hope to contribute to the development of better public policy through an improved understanding of the economy, and how it impacts everyday people."
Bernardo Gonzalez Arechiga Martinez
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I decided to do the Honours year to complement my Bachelor of Economics and to leverage the opportunity to work on a research project of my own. This extra year also opens doors to further studies in the US/UK which I may be pursuing."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"My research examines why despite technology advances, technology for learning hasn’t really made a big impact in education across all levels. Through an experiment we measured technology in learning a new topic and its effects on student outcomes including grades and motivation."
What do you want to do after honours?
"After Honours, I look to keep working on my startup called Model Econ with the mission of improving education through technology."
Benedict Gordon
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I wanted the opportunity to develop my economic analysis and skills further than I experienced in the undergraduate degree."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"My thesis aims to investigate the relationship between certain cognitive heuristics and voting behaviour."
What do you want to do after honours?
"My post honours plan entails: (1) take a holiday, (2) apply my newly expanded economic toolkit to forward my career and give back to society."
Tran Hoang Phuong Linh
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"There are certainly many reasons why I took the honours program. One of them is the environment and challenges it can offer. I have a chance to study and work closely with many great people, including all of the brilliant professors and my honours cohort, and expanding my knowledge. Secondly, I especially keen on the thesis, which, in my point of view, gives me a lot of opportunities to grow and develop in the field that I would love to work with, or just simply be a profound challenge which is undoubtedly rewarding."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"Applying high-dimensional instrumental variables regression and confidence interval for casual inference using sparsity assumption."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I would love to continue studying data analysis methods, which could be either improving the quality of the inferences/estimates (would be splendid) or applying econometrics. At the same time (if possible), I also want to see how the methods are applied behind the screen in many data programs (such as Stata) and could they be improved computationally."
William McCarthy
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"After I finished my Bachelor of Economics last year, I didn’t really feel like I was done learning. The Honours year gave me the opportunity to learn economics at an advanced level and develop my research skills. The School of Economics has a great group of researchers and I already feel like I have learnt a lot."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I’m conducting an experimental study to see whether a particular theory can explain individuals’ risk attitudes in repeated gambles."
What do you want to do after honours?
"Next year I plan on taking some math courses here at UQ and after that hopefully a PhD in the US."
Giles Morgan
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"To further enhance my knowledge in economics and to publish a thesis on behavioural economics."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"My thesis uses an experimental approach to examine if peer effects can influence risk taking."
What do you want to do after honours?
"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I’m an economist chasing the invisible hand. I wouldn’t know what to do with one if I caught it! I just… do things."
Elena Ryan
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"Experiencing real-world economic analysis applied through internships inspired me to test my abilities and seek to learn as much as I could while still surrounded by the wealth of resources and renowned academics at UQ. I also knew it would be an important step to take towards my career in economics and would help prepare me for my first job as an Economist, following graduation."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I am researching the impact of household voice and political competition on outcomes in land use regulation and house price-income elasticity, with a focus on the Greater Melbourne area."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I’ve accepted a role as an Economics and Finance Graduate with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The position was offered to me following an internship I undertook last year, which confirmed my decision to complete an Honours degree. I’m very much looking forward to starting my career at the RBA and moving to Sydney in the new year!"
Dominic Stevens-Robert
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I thoroughly enjoyed studying economics as an undergraduate and wanted to challenge myself by expanding my technical skills and undertaking research. Having the opportunity to do this within a cohort of friendly, highly skilled and dedicated students was something I couldn't turn down."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"My thesis topic is identifying whether structural change in Canada has been facilitated by trade between regions."
What do you want to do after honours?
"After honours, whether it be within the private or public sector, I am looking forward to utilising what I’ve learnt on meaningful projects. Analysing complex economic problems and creating solutions that make a positive impact is something that excites me."
Nicholas Umashev
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I have always been motivated to achieve a State of Flow. Flow is a mental state wherein you are so immersed and captivated by the task at hand that you forget to eat, sleep, blink, drink, and find yourself still at your office desk at 3am after 17 hours of 'work' (i.e. a hot date with an economics problem). The State of Flow usually begins with a "hmm?" and ends with a "Aha!".
Whether it is the broad application, the problem solving, the opportunity to prove someone wrong, mathematical rigor, the opportunity to be proven wrong, the philosophical way of life, or logic involved in economics - my 17 hours of flow can almost always be achieved through furthering my discovery of old and new economic theories."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"My chosen topic is in the field of experimental and behavioural economics with the thesis title being "Group Identity and Violent Tastes".
The aim of my thesis is to examine whether group identity exacerbates conflict between groups and reduces it within a group under an experimental setting. The experiment consists of two parts: (1) group identity inducement, (2) vendetta game. Part 1 involves subjects being assigned to a group identity based on their painting preferences and then communicating with their group online to solve a problem where they must identify whether an art piece was painted by Klee or Kandinsky. Part 2 involves subjects being matched with a counter-subject of either a heterogeneous, homogeneous, or unknown group identity and answering whether they would ‘steal’ or ‘not steal’ in a sequential mini-vendetta game.
Time permitting, I aim to weave in there a theoretical model relating the subjects decisions to their beliefs about their co-participant, as a function of the co-participants identity. Time not permitting, I will have a fun summer project."
What do you want to do after honours?
"Pursue a PhD in Economics."
Class of 2018
Arabella Bennett
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I was motivated to do honours after coming to the end of my economics degree and realising I wanted more to show from my degree—a piece of work that I had planned, researched and wrote myself. The honours thesis was a perfect opportunity to do this."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I’m writing my honours thesis on the effect of rooftop solar energy uptake on demand for electricity in Queensland."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I want to work in public policy, whether that be in public or private sector, and am particularly interested in long-term challenges such as infrastructure or trade."
Emily Dahl
Jason Lejcak 
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake Honours?
"I’ve always been fascinated with studying the mechanics of the global economic machine–attempting to understand its key drivers and how economists model these complex systems. Studying honours provides me with in-depth of knowledge beyond the undergraduate level, bolstering my understanding of an economist’s mindset and approach to these challenges. It’s also been a great opportunity to work on a thesis as part of the program, which further develops both research skills and writing ability–critical competencies for any career."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I choose to be supervised by Associate Professor Alicia Rambaldi, who is an expert in spatial time-series modelling of house prices. Her work in this field inspired me to undertake my own research in the housing market, being a very topical subject, and study in-depth the dynamics of the Melbourne property market. The research question is focused on investigating and quantifying the impact of zoning or local government regulation, which the RBA estimates has raised house prices, beyond the cost of supply, by a substantial 73% in Sydney and 69% in Melbourne."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I aim to launch my career as an analyst/researcher in the private sector, with the option of returning to graduate school or even a PhD in the future. I’ve found that honours provides a strong foundation for both academic and professional pathways."
Kate Huang
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"My main motivation in undertaking honours was to be exposed to a broader range of economics and to feed my interest in using mathematical proofs in an economic context. I am fascinated with how economics enables us to study people’s behaviour in a rather logical way, and how it could potentially shed light on our understanding of the conflicts occurring within today’s society. I was also drawn by the reputation of UQ’s honours program for its high quality of teaching and research."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"The decentralization property of perfect correlated equilibria."
What do you want to do after honours?
"Ideally, I would like to continue my further study (PhD) in economics, and ultimately pursue a career in academia."
Lorena Xie 
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I genuinely enjoyed economics/econometrics in my bachelor’s studies at UQ and I felt doing honours would enhance the fundamental skills learnt in undergrad economics courses. What’s more exciting is the opportunity to apply the skills through conducting my own research project and completing the honours thesis."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"My thesis focuses on developing a new approach to compute standard errors for purchasing power parities (PPPs) published by the World Bank International Comparisons Program. "
What do you want to do after honours?
"After honours, I plan to pursue a postgrad degree in the UK/US."
Matthew Newcombe 
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"Interestingly, I really only entertained the idea of doing honours quite late into my degree. Initially I aimed to push through university and pursue a career in the private sector, however, after completing a number of internships in finance, I felt I hadn’t really had the opportunity to more fully exercise my academic interests. Speaking to other students and a number of lecturers, it became apparent that honours would offer me an opportunity to pursue more academically rigorous coursework, and a chance to create independent, original research. Indeed, I couldn’t turn down such an intellectually stimulating opportunity."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I am researching the cost to central banks of pursuing exchange rate policy at the zero lower bound, and how this has changed over time and across countries."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I hope to go on to pursue further education overseas, either in Britain or in the United States. While I may not to necessarily go on to pursue pure post-graduate economics, I’d like to build upon the academic interests and skills I have developed while undertaking honours at UQ."
Hai Pham
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I have always felt like I was not pushing myself hard enough as an undergraduate student, so I chose to undertake honours as a way of developing myself. The honours program also offers me opportunities to work with brilliant people who are passionate about their work, which I find really inspiring."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I am writing a theoretical thesis about the emergence of cartels under uncertainty. Using a game-theoretic approach, I hope to identify different types of collusive firms and predict conditions under which firms would form cartels given their moral parameters and awareness of their public image."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I have decided to start my career in the private sector after honours. I hope to put the knowledge I have gained from my degree into practice."
Ransi Weerasooriya
What motivated and/or inspired you to undertake honours?
"I felt the three year undergraduate degree in economics didn’t do justice to economics and I wanted to know more. Especially the chance to learn in tandem with some really hardworking and serious students and also from some of the best instructors was another reason why I didn’t want to leave after the first three years."
What is the topic of your honours thesis?
"I picked to do something in econometric theory. I am trying to use machine learning methods to optimise causal inference. I find that the more I try to understand the inner workings of econometrics the more illuminating and enlightening it is."
What do you want to do after honours?
"I want to do higher study, preferably a PhD. I have a few ideas like trying to reconcile the differences between heterodox and orthodox schools of thought within economics by using empirics."
Scott Williams
Past honours students
Gamage Deshal Chanakya Hemachandra
Jeffrey Lin
Joshua Appleton-Miles
Junquian Li
Kieu My Tran
Lei Seng Cheong
Nicholas Monroe
Nicholas Harvey
Philip Womack
Zi YinClass of 2016
Travis Duff
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I have a natural curiosity of understanding patterns, correlations and casual relationships. Given this, I initially thought mathematics was my ideal path, however, at university I quickly discovered that economics provided the perfect platform to quantify such interests. Within economics, I’m particularly interested in the macro side of things–what affects and drives economies at the national level."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I felt honours provided an excellent opportunity to further improve and reinforce the fundamental skills learnt in undergrad. The thesis component was also a major contributor in choosing to undertake honours. The skills required to produce a substantial piece of unique research is something a simple undergraduate course does not provide. The opportunity to develop such skills I think will be highly valuable over the course of my career."
What are your career aspirations?
"My career aspirations are to work in macroeconomic strategy/funds management. I highly enjoy initially understanding a particular economic environment but then also using this information and understanding to construct a view of the future."
Tsz Yin Lui
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"My motivation to study economics is from my high school economics teacher. The way he understood and explained things in economic language inspired me to study economics. Besides, economics is everywhere. We can explain almost every kind of human behaviour through economic theories. How amazing is that."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"As I said before, I hope to discover and understand more about human behaviours and undertaking honours gives me the chance to learn more advanced theories and models."
What are your career aspirations?
"My ultimate goal is being an economist and publishing my own research. Honours gives the necessary knowledge for me to take the PhD pathway. Before that, I hope to work in monetary authority or the Treasury in Hong Kong."
Stuart Morrison
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I was always very interested in how policy and economics interacted with each other and I was inspired to study economics to nudge policy in a better direction."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I chose to undertake honours because of the opportunities for research and higher study in econometrics."
What are your career aspirations?
"I would love to work in the field of regulatory and competition economics as there are uncountable ways in which economic analysis can help improve how policy and markets interact."
Daniel Mouat
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"The explanatory power of economics really attracted me to the discipline. Economics offers a framework for examining issues ranging from how countries can escape poverty to how the number of books in a home is linked to childhood development. In seeking to describe the motivations and actions of people as well as societal institutions, the academic field offers an evidence-based understanding of the world around us. With this knowledge, policy-makers can more confidently enact the best policies."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"The ability to do original research in the form of a thesis was the main motivator. While an undergraduate economics degree is very enriching, I thought that research would enhance my understanding of the field. Honours opens up many opportunities as well, such as working for an organisation like the World Bank or OECD to further study. In doing an honours year, I hope to gain a better understanding of what career path I would like to take."
What are your career aspirations?
"I plan on starting my career in the private sector, but in the long run I would like to spend time in a global development organisation and play an active role in domestic policy. I think that solid experience in public and private sectors leads to more innovative solutions to today's most pressing problems."
Thi Mai Anh Nguyen
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"There was not a particular event that drew my attention to economics. I would say that my decision to study economics stems from a combination of a long passion for mathematics and my particular curiosity about individual and social choices. I find that economics is a very powerful way of thinking, in the sense that it can offer great insights into complex issues with quite simple intuition, and that it has little to no restriction on the subjects being studied. Furthermore, its elegant use of mathematics to formalise concepts that are intrinsically philosophical can never get one bored."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I chose to undertake honours to study economics with more depth and rigour. Especially with a focus on the thesis component, the honours year to me is an important preparation for my higher study."
What are your career aspirations?
"Enjoying researching and teaching, I aspire to be in academia. My area of interest is microeconomic and game theory."
Colin Burns
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I decided to study economics because I wanted a better understanding of how the world was organized and be able to answer some of the challenging questions like why are some nations so wealthy and others so poor."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I took my studies further to the honours level because I thought it would deepen my understanding of these issues and enhance my career prospects."
What are your career aspirations?
"I’m hoping to gain employment in consultancy or in government at the end of the year."
Class of 2015
Daniel Pool
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"In high school I always preferred analytical and mathematical topics. That combined with my curiosity for financial markets and the extent of which the Global Financial Crisis impacted the world at the time, led me to choosing an economics degree. It has since proved to be right match for me."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I enrolled in the honours program for two main reasons: to gain research skills and to extend my economics and econometrics knowledge. As research is a main component of an economist’s work, I felt that the experience developed in writing a thesis would prepare me for a career in the field. Furthermore, I got the opportunity to write about a thesis topic that really interests me. The program promised to provide us with challenging, yet stimulating coursework, and it has delivered just that. Lastly, I have knew that I would benefit from working alongside a group of like-minded and hardworking individuals."
What are your career aspirations?
"My main areas of interest are financial economics, policy making and international comparisons of country performance. After completion of my honours year, I aim at gaining some experience in a central or development Bank for a few years, then possibly doing a PhD. However, my main career ambition would be to work for a multi-lateral institution such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund."
Lawson Ashburner
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I stumbled into economics while in high school. When choosing my senior subjects I had one spot left and, on a whim, chose economics. It ended up being my favourite subject."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I chose to undertake honours for both personal and professional reasons. Not only did I want the opportunity to to conduct an extended piece of original research, honours is an entry requirement in many of the areas I would like to begin my career in."
What are your career aspirations?
"I would like to work for the Federal Government in an area pertaining to economic policy."
Jiacheng "Barry" Wang
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"It was the inclusiveness of economics that deeply impressed me when I was young. To be honest, I was into history initially but then I found that a knowledge of history could be quite helpful for reinforcing an understanding of economics. More surprisingly, in the field of economics, one is always provided with opportunities to come into contacts with a broader range of disciplines including philosophy, psychology, mathematics, statistics, etc., which I find so attractive that studying economics becomes a logical option."
Why did you choose to undertake Honours?
"Honours programs provide students with a chance to closely contact advanced economic theories and outstanding academic staffs. Excitingly, an honours thesis will be generated within the honours year. For people who are interested in developing original economic theories, choosing honours is awesome."
What are your career aspirations?
"Doing a PhD might be an option for me if I found myself amazingly comfortable with a huge number of reading tasks. And I am sure that being an economist is still one of coolest things in the world."
Johnathon Jones
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"The events during the GFC motivated me to study economics. I was fascinated by how economies could be so susceptible to financial crises and the link between the real and financial sectors in modern economies."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"The challenge of the honours year as well as the ability to move directly into prestigious PhD programs around the world led me to study honours. I was also excited to write a thesis on the European common currency, and the honours program is an ideal opportunity for that."
What are your career aspirations?
"I would like to pursue a career in macroeconomic analysis in a policy-making institution such as the RBA or the European Central Bank."
Lucille Danks
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I wrote one of my grade 12 English assignments on how the Henry Tax Review was represented in the media, and found myself much more interested in the content of the review than the way it was presented. At the time, I knew very little about what economics was and was intending to go on to study maths and politics at uni the following year. This assignment prompted me to start reading books on economics, through which I discovered that the field would be a great way to combine my interests in maths and politics with my intent to gain expertise in the field of development."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"The first reason is that I really enjoyed completing my bachelor's degree in economics and noticed that, particularly in micro and econometrics, we had only studied the tip of the iceberg. I wanted to learn more about these areas, and keep the option of further study open. The second reason is that I aspire to a have a broad career. The honours program presents as an opportunity to cement my credentials in economics, which I see to be important if I hope to move between different roles in policy, business management and economic analysis early in my career."
What are your career aspirations?
"I'm interested in issues pertaining to economic development and social mobility, and understand that leadership on these issues often comes from the intersection of government, corporates, the social sector and academia. I aim to acquire experience across these sectors, and to contribute technical expertise to the design and implementation of practical initiatives for advancing economic development and social mobility in Australia."
Luke McKenzie
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I originally got interested in economics, probably like a lot of other people, by reading Freakonomics. At the time I was interested in mathematics and statistics and I felt that economics would be a good field to apply such skills. I was also enticed by the way economics asked interesting questions as well as tried to describe individuals’ decisions and the society we live."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I was interested in further developing the skills I had already developed in my studies of economics and knew honours at UQ was the best place to do that. Honours is also essentially an introduction into the tools of academic economics, so I was excited by that. Finally, I was interested in the opportunity to undertake original research with some of the world-class academics UQ has."
What are your career aspirations?
"I am interested in public policy; therefore I have a desire to work for the Australian Government. I think designing and assessing implementable policy would be enjoyable. I have a particular interest in issues dealing with the labour market and economic inequality. I also have some lingering interest in potentially going to the U.S. to do a PhD."
Mikhara Ramsing
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"My inspiration for studying economics was to better understand how the world works. For me, the beauty of the discipline lies in its ability to conceptualise and improve the livelihood of others through a functioning economy."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"Being passionate about economics, I undertook honours to gain the opportunity to conduct my own research under the guidance of great mentors and to contribute to the discipline. I also wanted the challenge of rigorous learning and the sense of accomplishment that entails.
What are your career aspirations?
"I hope to apply the in-depth teaching and discipline economic honours will have provided me with coupled with my law degree to make an impact in the development sphere. I am passionate about sustainable social change."
Nan Phan
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I first touched economics in my A-Level years and was very impressed with Adam Smith’s 'Division of Labour' theory and his pin-making example. Then when I studied other theories such as the laws of demand and supply, of scarcity and especially game theory, economics seemed so interesting that I decided to follow it for further education, mostly due to its logical and analytical aspects."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"As my ultimate goal is to work in academia, the honours degree is the shortest pathway for a bachelor to do a PhD degree. Also this program can give me a glimpse of the research environment, which is extremely helpful to me."
What are your career aspirations?
"I plan to continue to PhD and then to work in academia."
Robert Walter
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I have always been passionate about environmental protection and interested in how we might create a sustainable society. The GFC prompted me to start listening to 'Planet Money', an economics podcast, and I realised that all of the world's environmental problems have an economic dimension. So I decided I wanted to work towards creating an economy which serves people today and preserves our environmental assets for the future."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I almost didn't do honours when my dream job was advertised at the end of last year (economist for the Australian Conservation Foundation). However, I didn't apply for it as I feel honours is a necessary step in understanding economic theory today and developing the skills to contribute to it. I wanted to learn how to formalise my intuitive knowledge of economics so that I can understand the building blocks of contemporary approaches to economic problems. I also wanted to experience an extended research project as I am considering further study."
What are your career aspirations?
"I am planning to continue on with further study. Ideally I'd like to do a PhD with a focus on pluralism in economic thought and ways of accommodating diverse and even conflicting economic approaches... unless the Australian Conservation Foundation advertises my dream job again."
Sophie Byth
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"After high school I decided to study law, and felt that economics would be a useful additional qualification in many areas (e.g. competition law). Economics ended up being far more interesting, so I made that the focus of my studies."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I was primarily interested in the research aspect of honours, as academic research is not an opportunity I had in my undergraduate degree. I've also seriously considered continuing my studies, and honours is excellent preparation if I do make that decision."
What are your career aspirations?
"I really enjoy teaching economics at the university level, so I hope to have a career in academia."
Zhengyang "Leo" Bao
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"My interest in economics was triggered by my bachelor’s study in the field in both China and Australia. I was amazed by the simplicity of the supply and demand curves to explain complicated economic phenomena when I first came across the discipline. After that, economics has continued to intrigue me as it involves problemsolving."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"UQ’s School of Economics is highly ranked internationally and the honours program is considered to be the best in Australia."
What are your career aspirations?
"I believe the honours program at UQ will provide me with a valuable opportunity to do research and give the skills to transition into my future career in academia."
Other 2015 honours students include:
Francis Graham
Gabriela Araujo
Joshua Adams
Mai Phuong Nguyen
Nathan Cotton
Rhys Downham
Ryan Leung
Thomas Gardiner
Class of 2014
Andrew Staib
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"There is no one specific trigger point which I can say led me down the path of economics. I took economics in high school and, along with it being one of my favourite subjects, I achieved high marks. I felt as though economics was something that I could both enjoy and excel at."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I learned much from the undergraduate economics program at UQ. However, I felt as though my training lacked some of the rigour that economists typically apply. I chose to undertake honours so I could gain further understanding of the methods applied by economists to solve economic problems. I believed the UQ honours program would greatly expand my skillset in this regard and add rigour to the methods I use to solve economic problems. Additionally, the UQ honours program is highly valued in the workforce."
What are your career aspirations?
"Ultimately, I would like to some day be in a position to affect policy. Economic policy has tangible effects on the lives of everybody and I would like to be in a position where I could use my economic skills for society's benefit. Having secured a graduate position at the RBA, I have taken a first step in achieving this goal."
Belinda McEniery
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I first took economics on a whim as a subject in senior school and I was quickly attracted to the inherent rationality and logic of the subject. Since then, economics has remained an interesting combination of a range of diverse disciplines including mathematics, politics and business whilst having a unique and wide-ranging scope itself."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"After graduating in 2013 with a Bachelor of Economics, I wanted the chance to apply the knowledge I gained in my undergraduate degree to the more challenging and demanding setting provided by the honours program. The thesis component of the program has the exciting opportunity for students to investigate and contribute to an area of interest, in my case, health economics. Whilst undertaking this experience within research, honours students will also have almost unparalleled exposure to some of the school's best academics which is one of the most appealing aspects of the program."
What are your career aspirations?
"In the long run, I am looking to work within public policy development, potentially within the public service or a think-tank."
Ben Jackman
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"While I always had passing interest in economics, I started my academic career at UQ in science. After some time, I realised science wasn't for me, and began looking for another field to study. The global financial crisis drew my attention and, after learning a little about it, I became hooked on macroeconomics and monetary policy."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"Honours was a clear choice for me. Honours in economics gives us exposure to advanced coursework and experience in academic research. It provides opportunities in the industry that wouldn't otherwise be available to us, and allows those of us interested in further study direct entry into international PhD programs."
What are your career aspirations?
"I want to be involved in the implementation and development of monetary policy for Australia. Central banks face unique challenges in the 21st century, and I hope I can help in responding to those challenges, as either an academic or a central banker."
Cedric Wong
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"Truth to be told, I disliked economics throughout junior high school until I was in grade 11, I somehow sat through the entire economics class without being distracted. Surprisingly, I was fascinated by the usefulness of economics and how it can be used as a tool for policy analysis and decision-making. Strangely, my grade 11 economics teacher has inspired me to study economics, as I never thought I would have studied a Bachelor of Economics if the teacher happened to be someone else. As a global citizen, I believe the study of economics will allow me to obtain an in depth recognition and a better insight of the world as economics is one of the most essential elements that connects it."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"Throughout my undergraduate studies, I have started to develop a strong interest in applied econometrics for macroeconomics as I am captivated by how information channels through data and how the use of quantitative techniques can be applied to verify economic theories. Therefore, my desire for deeper economics knowledge has led me to pursue an honours degree. More importantly, I believe I will be given an opportunity to strengthen my quantitative analysis skills through my honours thesis as it focuses on predicting housing price changes in Sydney."
What are your career aspirations?
"I have always wanted to work for federal government institutions such as the RBA and the Treasury because it would give me a chance to apply my research and econometrics analytical skills in a practical manner. While I do enjoy economics, my real passion lies within the game of tennis. I hope I would be able to work for the Association of Tennis Professionals in the distant future."
Cheung Anderson
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"During high school, the global financial crisis was unfolding before my very eyes and I became rather intrigued. I wanted to learn more about the ideas of economists/political philosophers and how their intellect/ideology influences the global economy. Therefore, upon completion of grade twelve, I decided to study economics at UQ (best decision I’ve made to date)."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"UQ’s economics honours program has a reputation for being challenging and rigorous, as such I decided to undertake honours to test my limits. At the same time I see it as an opportunity to expand my knowledge in the field of economics and gain experience in research, through writing a thesis. I also see honours as an opportunity to enhance my employability."
What are your career aspirations?
"After completing honours, I wish to pursue a career related to public policy, either through the public service or private sector. If provided the opportunity, I would also consider further study, such as a PhD."
Christopher Mar
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I was initially drawn towards economics because of the formal approach it takes in analysing social issues. As I learnt in Introductory Microeconomics (ECON1010), the focus of economics is on explaining why certain outcomes arise, rather than necessarily concluding whether that behaviour is right or wrong. It was this interest in analytical techniques and in the investigation of economic problems that lead me into the field of econometrics."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I have always heard that doing honours was one of the most challenging but rewarding years that you can do at UQ. But it probably wasn’t until I started tutoring, in my fourth year, when I really made the decision to do honours. Tutoring provided a first chance for me to dig a little deeper on familiar concepts by discussing economic concepts in my classes and in helping students with their study. This reminded me just how much I enjoyed economics, and triggered a passion within me to explore further these economic ideas. I choose to do honours in order to learn more advanced economic concepts. The part of the honours program that I am most excited about is the opportunity to complete a piece of original research in a topic of my own choice."
What are your career aspirations?
After honours I would like to work for a public policy-making institution.
Christopher Heard
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I came to economics indirectly. I began my studies in law and biochemistry with a view to understanding the legal aspects of science and technology policy, but I quickly decided that law was not for me. I remember a first year torts lecture that was very critical of academics who apply economic theory to analysing the law, but I thought they might be onto something! Economics provided an excellent opportunity to keep studying policy and business issues in a rigorous way, while drawing on more quantitative and (dare I say) interesting techniques."
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"The opportunity to undertake advanced coursework was attractive, as was the chance to experience academic research. Honours is also excellent preparation for further study."
What are your career aspirations?
"My oldest academic interest is science and, although I am happy to leave the laboratory work to others, it would be great to apply my economics training to (or work in academia studying) industries which draw heavily on science and technology. Fortunately, that gives me a growing list to choose from. My honours thesis is of particular relevance to public policy and the resources sector, but opportunities in health, agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and science and technology policy are also of interest."
Keaton Jenner
What motivated and/or inspired you to study economics initially?
"I started at UQ straight out of high school and was initially studying a Bachelor of Journalism. I quickly realised that my expectations and the reality of the field did not coincide, and that a career as a reporter or in public relations wasn’t for me. During my first year of university, I had been exposed to some basic economic ideas through some of my elective courses and also the 'Free to Choose' series produced by Milton Friedman. I decided to take some first year economic courses in my second year and found them all really interesting, so I made the switch to a B.Econ/BA. "
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I wanted to set myself the challenge of the honours year to see if I could push myself beyond the limits of undergraduate coursework. I was also very keen to write a thesis which would both improve my research skills and also potentially make some contribution to the literature."
What are your career aspirations?
"I hope to be working as an economist. Ideally, I will be involved in some kind of applied policy analysis or economic research. Eventually, I would like to work for an international organisation like the World Bank or the IMF."
Yen Thi Jai Tran
Why did you choose to undertake honours?
"I chose to study economics because an early exposure to this field captivated me in its intuitive explanations of various phenomenons. My bachelor program developed that intuition into a systematic and critical analytical toolkit. Honours at UQ is my choice after Bachelor of Economics because I see it as an important stepping stone for the higher education that I wish to pursue. Also, UQ is such a friendly, supportive and stimulating study environment."
What are your career aspirations?
"I thoroughly enjoy learning, researching and sharing knowledge through teaching. I therefore aspire to become an academic in my future career."
Other 2014 honours students include:
Cameron Gordon
Chun Yai Tai
Sarah Brown
Varun Venaik
Yuki Tamura