The New Zealand Economics Competition 2011 Awards presentation - PDF document

The New Zealand Economics Competition 2011 Awards presentation Wednesday 16 November 2011 The University of Auckland Business School Department of Economics

Programme MC Professor Tim Hazledine Department of Economics, The University of Auckland Business School Welcome Professor Basil Sharp Department of Economics, The University of Auckland Business School Presentation of awards High Distinction Guest speaker Hugh Fletcher MCom(Hons) Auckland, MBA Stanford, BSc, BCom Auckland Presentation of awards High Distinction Presentation of trophies and awards National winners Closing Please join us in the main foyer of the Owen G Glenn Building for discussion, photos and refreshments at the end of the awards presentations. Events at The University of Auckland Business School may be photographed or fjlmed for educational purposes. Where a photograph or fjlm/video footage featuring an individual is to be used for promotional materials the consent of the individual will be obtained. Consents will not be sought in other circumstances. 3

2011 New Zealand Economics Competition Welcome to the New Zealand Economics Competition Awards presentation evening. The Competition has been administered by the Department of Economics at The University of Auckland Business School since 2008. The 55 minute examination paper contains 40 multiple choice questions that test classroom theory and general knowledge of current economic issues. The New Zealand Economics Competition has grown in size and reputation since its inception in 1997, becoming the largest and most prestigious competition of its kind for secondary students. One of its aims is to promote the study of Economics. This year 2,707 students from 125 schools throughout New Zealand entered the Competition. Tonight is an opportunity to recognise some of the students who have achieved outstanding performances. We also wish to express our gratitude to teachers and principals, whose contribution makes the Competition possible. The New Zealand Economics Competition is sponsored by The University of Auckland Business School and the Kelliher Economics Foundation. Established in 1964, the Kelliher Economics Foundation is aimed at encouraging secondary school students to pursue tertiary studies in economics. For more information about the New Zealand Economics Competition, visit our website: www.business.auckland.ac.nz/nzeconcomp 4

Guest speaker profjle Hugh Fletcher MCom(Hons) Auckland, MBA Stanford, BSc, BCom Auckland Hugh was an undergraduate student at The University of Auckland from 1966-69 and a senior scholar in Economics and Mathematics. He was awarded a Harkness Scholarship and obtained an MBA at Stanford University, California. On his return to Auckland he completed an MCom with fjrst class honours in Economics. Hugh was an executive with the Fletcher Group for 26 years, and deputy chief executive or chief executive for 17 of those years. During this time, the annual compound total shareholder return (dividends plus share price appreciation) was 16.9%, versus infmation (CPI) of 6.9%. During the 90s, when Hugh was CEO, Fletcher Challenge had more than $10 billion of assets and 30,000 employees with activities in most continents in the forestry, pulp and paper, oil, gas, petrochemicals, construction and building materials industries. Hugh retired as an executive in 1997. Since then he has had a number of non-executive directorships, as well as advisory board and trustee roles, including on The University of Auckland Council for 12 years (four as Chancellor). He currently holds directorships at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Fletcher Building, Insurance Australia Group, Vector, Rubicon and the Dilworth Trust. Hugh is married to the Chief Justice, the Right Honourable Dame Sian Elias, and they have two adult sons, both graduates of The University of Auckland. 5

Department of Economics staff profjles Professor Basil Sharp BAgCom Canterbury, DipAgr, DipVFM Lincoln(NZ), MS, PhD Wisconsin Head of Department of Economics Basil has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he majored in the economics of natural resources. He joined The University of Auckland in 1990 after holding a position at the University of Canterbury for ten years. Basil specialises in the economics of natural resources, and is particularly interested in applying economic models to contemporary resource issues in New Zealand. He has advised government on water management, energy policy, and assisted with the introduction of New Zealand’s world leading fjsheries management system. It is quite common that impacts associated with resource development are not priced in the market. Basil, with colleagues at Lincoln University, led the development of non-market valuation methods in New Zealand. These methods now fjnd application in the Environment Court dealing with hydro-electricity development, the allocation of water between competing uses and resource consents for wind farms. Basil is director of the Energy Centre at The University of Auckland, which undertakes research on energy and resource markets, and transport economics, that is of relevance to business and the community. The Centre offers numerous courses, including a national summer school on energy economics. He has also consulted private and public sector clients and is associate editor of the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Associate Professor Matthew Ryan BA, BCA(Hons) Wellington, MA, PhD Yale Deputy Head of Department of Economics Matthew was an undergraduate student at The University of Auckland from 1986-89, majoring in economics and philosophy. He has a PhD in Economics from Yale University and specialises in microeconomic theory. Matthew’s research is largely concerned with the mathematical modelling of economic systems and he is a co-founder of the Centre for Mathematical Social Sciences (CMSS), based in the Department of Mathematics at The University of Auckland. His work includes the analysis of internet auction markets, such as TradeMe, where he and his collaborators have studied the seller’s optimal choice of reserve price, optimal re-listing decisions and the effects of seller bidding on auction revenues, amongst other issues. Matthew is an associate editor of New Zealand Economic Papers. 6

Department of Economics staff profjles Professor Tim Hazledine MA Canterbury, Otago, PhD Warwick Professor Tim Hazledine is a specialist in the economics of fjrms and markets, which is also known as Industrial Organisation (IO). Born and brought up in Dunedin, Tim was educated at the Universities of Otago and Canterbury before heading overseas to study for his PhD at the University of Warwick. During his 20-year OE, he taught at Warwick, Balliol College Oxford, Queen’s University in Ontario and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and also worked for the Canadian Government and as an independent consultant. Tim’s research and policy interests include the application of economic analysis to resource management policy in New Zealand, as well as the ever-interesting issue of pricing and competition in national and international airline markets. The latter topic was spurred by his involvement several years ago in the well-known Air New Zealand/Qantas strategic alliance competition case, where it became apparent that there were a number of gaps in our understanding of how competing airlines set their prices, and also how the new low-cost carrier business model would impact established or “legacy” airlines. Tim’s research has resulted in published papers extending our useful knowledge of how airlines use revenue management to increase their passenger yields and the implications this has on viable business strategies, competition and regulation. Richard Frogley BCA, MCA(Hons) Wellington Richard was the national winner of the New Zealand Economics Competition when it was run for the fjrst time in 1997. Since then he has completed a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Economics and Econometrics, and a Master of Commerce with fjrst class honours in Economics at Victoria University of Wellington. He has worked as an investment strategist with AMP Capital Investors in Wellington and London. He also spent four years working as an investment strategist with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund in Auckland. Richard currently tutors microeconomics and macroeconomics at The University of Auckland. 7