Category Archives: Events

Information about NZ and international events of interest to NZ economists

Transport Economics Knowledge Hub seminar in July

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The Ministry of Transport and Transport Economics Knowledge Hub invite you to:

Revise urban transport’s role: To obtain competitive urban land markets, and ensure homes are close to jobs, goods, services, and amenities by Chris Parker, Chief Economist, Auckland Council
Opportunities and barriers in the way New Zealand develops its roading and transport networks, and ramifications for economic growth by Tom Simonson, Principal Regulatory Advisor, Local Government New Zealand
 
Time and date:  12:00pm to 1:30pm, Monday 04 July 2016
Venue:  Ministry of Transport, Level 6, 89 The Terrace, Wellington
RSVP:  knowledgehub@transport.govt.nz (by Thursday 30 June 2016)  
Chris will be presenting from Auckland office. So people in Auckland are welcome to attend the seminar at Auckland office (Address: Level 6, Tower Centre, 45 Queen Street, Auckland)

Transport Economics Knowledge Hub seminar in May (2)

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The Ministry of Transport and Transport Economics Knowledge Hub invite you to:

 

Transport infrastructure: decision-making under uncertainty:

The real options approach

 

Abstract

Many transport investments face uncertainty, especially on the demand side. Traditional analysis is inadequate and can result in either severe congestion or white elephants like “The Bridge to Nowhere”. Better techniques have emerged, exploiting the value of flexibility and strategic decision making – the real options approach.

This presentation follows the shorter presentation provided by David Greig in March 2016. An expert in real options, David Campbell from the Australian economic consulting firm ACIL Allen, will share his experience from applying the approach in the transport (road, rail and ports), research, health, defence, water, drought, and climate change contexts.

Time and date:                  12pm to 1pm, Thursday, 12 May 2016

Venue:                               Ministry of Transport, Level 6, 89 The Terrace, Wellington

RSVP:                               Helen Huang,  h.huang@transport.govt.nz (by Wednesday, 11 May, 2016)

David Campbell is a Sydney-based Senior Associate of ACIL Allen, and was one of the founders of ACIL Tasman Pty Ltd, one of the two predecessor companies to ACIL Allen. David has many years of experience advising clients in relation to policy and investment strategy in areas involving high levels of uncertainty.

This has included pioneering applications of real options methods – that focus on dealing appropriately with the value of strategy flexibility and the value of information in guiding the development of adaptive investment strategies that offer greater value by limiting downside risk and securing access to upside possibilities.

Transport Economics Knowledge Hub seminar in May

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The Ministry of Transport and Transport Economics Knowledge Hub invite you to attend a seminar that will present on three topics:

 Treasury’s new Cost Benefit Analysis guide by Dieter Katz, The Treasury

The Economic Evaluation Manual by Graeme Belliss, New Zealand Transport Agency

The role of regulatory impact analysis (RIA) in policy analysis, advice, and political decision-making by Ben Temple, The Treasury

Time and date:                  12:00pm to 1:30pm, Tuesday 03 May 2016

Venue:                                 Ministry of Transport, Level 6, 89 The Terrace, Wellington

RSVP:                                    knowledgehub@transport.govt.nz (by Friday 29 April 2016)

Transport Economics Knowledge Hub Debate in April

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The Ministry of Transport and Transport Economics Knowledge Hub invite you to:

The Transport Economics Hub Debate:

Can New Zealand overcome the competitive disadvantage of being far away from international markets?

YES: Dave Heatley, Wayne Heerdegen, Iain McGlinchy, Nathaniel Robson

NO: Tom Simonson, Ian Duncan, Natalia Fareti, Alec Morrison

Chair: Kirdan Lee

Time and date:  12:30pm to 1:30pm, Tuesday 5 April 2016

Venue:   Ministry of Transport, Level 6, 89 The Terrace, SAS Tower, Wellington

RSVP:   knowledgehub@transport.govt.nz

 

 

 

 

 

Transport Economics Knowledge Hub Upcoming Seminar in March

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Transport Economics Knowledge Hub invite you to:

  • Economic development and transport by Ian Duncan (Principal Economist at Ministry of Transport)

  • Analytical framework and real options by David Greig (Strategy Director at Ministry of Transport) and Joanne Leung (Principal Economist at Ministry of Transport)

Time and date:  12 pm to 1 pm, Monday, 14 March 2016

Venue:   Ministry of Transport, Level 6, SAS Tower, 89 The Terrace, Wellington

RSVP:   KnowledgeHub@transport.govt.nz

Seminars for 2016 including Treasury, RBNZ and universities

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A list of seminars at each institution can be found on the pages below.

18th Central Bank Macroeconomic Modelling Workshop 7-8 Dec 2015

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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will host the 18th Central Bank Macroeconomic Modelling Workshop. The annual series of workshops aims to give policymakers and academics the opportunity to discuss issues related to the class of models used for policy analysis.

This year’s workshop on “Challenges for Open Economies” focuses on the growing real and financial linkages among economies, and their implications for policy analysis. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to: exchange rate determination and impacts, the terms of trade and commodity prices, international factor mobility, policy spillovers and the international dimension of inflation dynamics.

The workshop will be held at the InterContinental Hotel in Wellington, New Zealand on 7-8 December 2015.

Keynote Speakers:

Frank Smets, European Central Bank

Giancarlo Corsetti, Cambridge University

5th Auckland Finance Meeting on 17-19 Dec 2015

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The Auckland Centre for Financial Research at the Faculty of Business and Law, Auckland University of Technology is hosting its 5th Auckland Finance Meeting on 17-19 December 2015. The main focus will be on empirical/econometric studies in finance. Topics include (but are not limited to): Asset Pricing; Behavioral Finance; Empirical Corporate Finance; Derivative Markets; Financial Econometrics; Financial Markets; International Finance; Market Microstructure; Risk Management; Volatility Models; Banking; etc. The academic part of the meeting will commence in the afternoon of 17 December and finishes in the afternoon of 19 December.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Prof. Peter Bossaerts – University of Utah, US
Prof. Robert I. Webb – University of Virginia, US

GEN Annual Conference 30 Nov 2015

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GEN Annual Conference 2015
“THE NEXT 5 YEARS; POLICY ISSUES AND PRACTICES”

The 2015 GEN Annual Conference will be held on 30 November at the Intercontinental Hotel, Wellington.

The next five years will see important changes in New Zealand. We will continue to get older, we can expect more disruptive technological innovations, global markets will evolve, and major debates around inequality, regulation and the investment approach will likely continue. At this day-long conference, international and domestic experts will outline what some of the most important changes over the next five years could be and how these could affect the knowledge and skills requirements of economists in government in New Zealand.

This will include sessions on:

  • The current state of economic thinking and what this may mean for income transfer policies and regulation
  • New Zealand’s changing demographic profile
  • The changing business outlook
  • Policymaking under uncertainty
  • The investment approach to social policy

The line-up of speakers includes:

  • Hon Bill English; MP, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance
  • Prof Warwick McKibbon; Director of the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis Australian National University
  • Sir David Ramsden; Director General UK HM Treasury Chair of UK Government Economic Service
  • Prof Robert Wade; Professor of Political Economy, London School of Economics

WEAI 11th Pacific Rim Conference 8-11 Jan 2015 in Wellington

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The  11th Pacific Rim Conference of the Western Economic Association International (WEAI) will be held 8-11 January 2015 in New Zealand.  The conference website https://weai.org/PR2015 is open for registration and submission of paper abstracts.  NZAE members can participate in this conference; you may wish to go to their website and submit a paper.

Hosted by the Victoria University of Wellington and Massey University at Wellington, and sponsored by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand Treasury, the Pacific Rim Conference will include the following Keynote Speakers:

  • Robert Engle, 2003 recipient of The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel,
  • Christopher Sims, 2011 recipient of The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel,
  • David Card, University of California, Berkeley, 2014- 2015 WEAI President-Elect and Program Committee Chair, and recipient of the 1995 John Bates Clark medal.

About WEAI

Formed in 1922, WEAI currently publishes two journals, Economic Inquiry and Contemporary Economic Policy, and holds two conference series, the Annual Conferences and Pacific Rim Conferences.

Conference on Reflections on 25 Years of Inflation Targeting 1-3 Dec 2014

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This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act (1989), which granted the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) its independence, introduced price stability as its primary objective, and thus instituted inflation targeting as a monetary policy regime. To mark this occasion, RBNZ and the International Journal of Central Banking (IJCB) are organising a conference on 1‐3 December 2014 in Wellington, New Zealand. More

Workshop on Interactions Between Monetary and Macro-prudential Policies 22-Oct-2014

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On 22 October the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will host a one-day workshop on interactions between monetary and macro-prudential policies in Wellington, New Zealand. The workshop aims to draw together policy analysis and research that contributes to the debate on the design of monetary and macro-prudential policies. More

2014 History of Economic Thought Society of Australia conference in Auckland 11-12 July

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The University of Auckland will host the 2014 HETSA conference in 2014. Registration is open to all those interested in the contest of ideas and the intellectual history of economics. The first conference session will be scheduled for Friday 11 July at 9am. More

Brian Easton to present NIDEA Seminar in Hamilton 27-Mar-2014

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The Long Term Prospects for Health Spending

Dr Brian Easton, Economic and Social Trust on New Zealand

ABSTRACT: Last year the Treasury released its long term fiscal projections which look up to 40 years out. Although initially the big concern was demographic change and New Zealand superannuation, it soon became clear that a major issue was public sector health spending. Brian, who was on the group advising the Treasury on the projections, will explain the population and health projections and outline what they might mean for public policy. The projections are at https://www.treasury.govt.nz/government/longterm/fiscalposition/2013

BIO: Dr Brian Easton has had a long involvement in health economics and in economic forecasting (and has made occasional forays into demographic analysis). He is currently writing a history of New Zealand from an economic perspective .which includes an account of the history of the health system and which is heavily dependent on the analysis of population change (especially where the economic data are deficient). Brian is Research Associate of the National Institute for Demographic and Economic Analysis and an Honorary Fellow of the Wellington School of Medicine of the University of Otago. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, a Chartered Statistician, and a Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and a Distinguished Fellow of the New Zealand Economic Association.

When: Thursday 27th March 2014, 1.10. – 2.00 pm

Where: I.1.05 For more information please contact Professor Jacques Poot (jpoot@waikato.ac.nz)

Seminar website https://www.waikato.ac.nz/nidea/events

New Zealand Social Statistics Network courses starting 18-Nov-2013

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The New Zealand Social Statistics Network (NZSSN) is offering twelve 5-day courses, two 3-day courses and two 2-day courses in social science research methods, over the period 18th–29th November 2013. The courses will take place at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Government. The courses on offer are summarised below.

Week 1

INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS: 18th–22nd November 2013

Christine Miller, Department of Statistics, The University of Auckland

An introductory course in statistical techniques with an emphasis on those applicable to the social sciences, focusing on concepts rather than mathematics.

 

INTRODUCTION TO R: 18th–19th November 2013 (2 DAYS)

TBC, Department of Statistics, The University of Auckland

An intensive course in statistical methods using R, with alternating lecture and lab sessions, so that skills are applied right after being learnt.

 

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH TECHNIQUES: 18th–22nd November 2013

Dr Delwyn Goodrick, Program Evaluation Consultant

An introductory course consisting of lectures and practical workshops, designed for those with no background in research or with no previous experience with qualitative techniques of data collection and analysis.

 

APPLIED COMPUTER-ASSISTED QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS USING NVIVO: 18th–22nd November 2013

Dr Leonie Daws, Principal Consultant, Kihi Consultancies

A course designed for those familiar with qualitative research approaches and interested in using NVivo to assist with qualitative data analysis. The focus is on learning the NVivo data analysis toolkit through hands-on experience.

 

INTRODUCTION TO STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELLING USING AMOS OR MPLUS: 18th–22nd November 2013

Associate Professor Everarda Cunningham, Swinburne University of Technology

An applied course in using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), which is used to find and test complex relationships among observed and latent variables.

 

INTRODUCTION TO SURVEY DESIGN: 18th–22nd November 2013

Dr Gordon Emmerson, Honorary Fellow, Victoria University, Melbourne

An introductory course covering underlying theory and best practice in quantitative survey design.

 

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL NETWORK RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS: 18th–22nd November 2013

Associate Professor Malcolm Alexander, School of Humanities, Griffith University, Queensland

This course introduces information and data collection methods used by social scientists working on social networks.

 

FUNDAMENTALS OF SPSS: 18th–22nd November 2013

Associate Professor Brian Phillips, Swinburne University of Technology

This course provides the beginner in quantitative data analysis with the basic requirements for analysis in an SPSS computing environment, focusing on the analysis of survey, administrative and/or census data.

 

DATA ANALYSIS USING STATA: 18th–22nd November 2013

Joanna Dipnall, CogNETive

The aim of the course is to provide the participants with understanding and experience to undertake a basic research project in the social or health sciences using Stata as the statistical tool. Stata is a comprehensive integrated package for data management, analysis and graphics.

 

 

Week 2

PROGRAMME EVALUATION – SUPPORTING EVIDENCE-INFORMED PRACTICE: 25th–29th November 2013

Dr Delwyn Goodrick, Program Evaluation Consultant

A course designed for public sector workers and academics interested in commissioning, managing or conducting evaluations of public policy or programmes. (Previously called Introduction to Program Evaluation.)

 

APPLIED MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS USING STATA: 25th–29th November 2013

Joanna Dipnall, CogNETive

A followup course in Stata, focusing on multivariate statistical techniques, from multiple and logistic regression through principal components analysis and multidimensional scaling, and data visualisation using these methods.

 

MIXED METHODS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH: 25th–29th November 2013

Dr Gordon Emmerson, Honorary Fellow, Victoria University, Melbourne

A course intended for current and emerging researchers who want to know more about using both qualitative and quantitative methods in their research.

 

APPLIED STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELS USING MPLUS: 25th–29th November 2013

Associate Professor Everarda Cunningham, Swinburne University of Technology

The first part of the course focuses on using Mplus to specify and interpret common models in SEM, e.g. path analytic and confirmatory factor analysis models; the second part introduces multi-group comparisons and complex longitudinal models.

 

ADVANCED QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS USING NVIVO: 25th–27th November 2013 (3 DAYS)

Dr Leonie Daws, Principal Consultant, Kihi Consultancies

An advanced course designed for those working on research projects already utilising the software, focusing on higher-level data analysis, theory building and hypothesis testing, validating findings, and producing reports and accounts.

 

BASICS AND BEYOND OF FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH: 25th–27th November 2013 (3 DAYS)

Dr Martha Ann Carey

This workshop uses a hands-on approach to focus groups for varying levels of rigorous research. Understanding the underlying concepts will enable you to master and adapt the tools effectively with various groups and communities.

 

Q-METHODOLOGY: 25th–26th November 2013 (2 DAYS)

Dr Amanda Wolf, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington

We will complete a Q study from soup to nuts, with workshop participants serving as both researchers and data providers. Attention will be given to both the basic steps involved in a Q-methodology study and the foundational theory.

 

 

For more information and cost/payment details, please visit www.nzssn.org.nz. Discounts are available for multiple enrolments from a single institution. Our earlybird closing date is Friday 18th October 2013.

 

NZSSN courses are designed to serve a wide variety of needs for training and professional development in the academic, public and private sectors. Courses cater not only to researchers in the social and political sciences, but also those in areas such as the behavioural sciences, medical and health sciences, epidemiology, policy research, education, economics, law, management, marketing, public relations and human resource management. Our short courses are delivered by highly qualified instructors and previous courses have received outstanding reviews.

 

If you are aware of any other individuals/departments/companies that might be interested in these NZSSN courses, could you please advise me, and I will forward information directly to them. Alternatively, please do not hesitate to circulate the material yourself.

 

For more information, and/or to enrol, please visit www.nzssn.org.nz or email courses@nzssn.org.nz

Like us on Facebook at tinyurl.com/nzssn-fb

Call for Papers: The Ninth Forum of the World Association for Political Economy 23-May-2014

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Call for Papers (1st round)

Growth, Development and Social Justice

The Ninth Forum of the World Association for Political Economy

May 23–25, 2014, Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences

Hanoi, Vietnam

The 8th forum of the World Association for Political Economy (WAPE) was successfully held in Florianopolis, Brazil on May 24-26, 2013. About 100 participants from 18 countries attended this forum. Ninety three papers or abstracts were submitted. Theotonio dos Santos (Brazil) and Wei Xinhua (China) were granted the Marxian Economics Award, and nine professors from USA, UK, France, China, Japan, Brazil, and Vietnam were granted the Distinguished Achievement Award of World Political Economy of the 21st Century. A Statement on “Inequalities and World Capitalism: Analysis, Policy and Action” was released at the closing ceremony of the forum.

The 9th WAPE Forum “Growth, Development and Social Justice” will be held at Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam on May 23-25, 2014.

Topics to propose

You are welcome to propose topics on the theme “Growth, Development and Social Justice” and all other topics related to Marxist political economy before June 30, 2013. Please email your proposals to wapemember@gmail.com.

How to apply to attend the 9th WAPE Forum

Please register at www.wapeweb.org with your personal information, upload one of your photos, and submit your full curriculum vitae and a paper abstract of 500 words in English. Once your abstract is accepted, please pay your registration fee online. When your payment is confirmed, please submit your full paper. You will then receive an official invitation. You also have the option to apply to attend the forum without a paper.

Both individual papers and complete panels on the theme and proposed topics are welcome.

  • Important dates

    Deadline for abstract: October 31, 2013;

    Notice of acceptance: November 30, 2013;

    Deadline for full paper: March 31, 2014.

    Full papers submitted after March 31, 2014 will not be included in the conference proceedings.

All accepted papers will be considered for publication in World Review of Political Economy.

  • Registration fee

    US$160 for online payment before March 31, 2014;

    US$220 for online payment after March 31, 2014 or onsite payment on May 23-25, 2014.

  • Official Language: English
  • Schedule
  1. On site registration on May 22 through May 23, 2014.
  2. WAPE Council meeting/WRPE Editorial meeting on May 23, 2014.
  3. Official program on May 24 through May 25, 2014.

 What is the benefit of joining WAPE?

While applying to attend the 9th WAPE forum, you have the option to join WAPE. It is highly recommended that you choose to join WAPE. Please find below the details on WAPE membership.

  • General Membership

WAPE has decided to develop itself as a membership organization in order to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, new thought and research across the divide of language and geography, and offer its members access to certain benefits. These include:

• Free digital copies of the organization’s peer reviewed academic journal, World Review of Political Economy (WRPE), which is published four times a year.

• Publishing of members’ selected articles on our websites.

• Translation of selected books and articles into Chinese and publishing them in China.

• Invitations to attend a variety of conferences in China.

• Scholars who are members may be invited to China on a lecture tour.

• Members will be invited to join panels, which WAPE will organize for various international conferences held in different countries.

The general membership fee of WAPE is only US$30 per year, and the membership fee including a hard copy of WRPE is US$100 per year. Membership taken out in 2013 has the added benefit of members receiving eight digital issues of WRPE Volumes 3 and 4.

Marxian economists from all over the world are welcome to attend the forum whether or not they will present a paper. The WAPE Forums aim to encourage cooperation among Marxian economists and to enlarge and strengthen the influence of Marxian economics in the world.

  • WAPE. The World Association for Political Economy, registered in Hong Kong, China, is an international academic organization founded in 2006 by Marxian economists and related groups around the world. The mission of WAPE is to utilize modern Marxian economics to analyze and study the world economy, reveal its laws of development, and offer policies to promote economic and social progress on the national and global level. The last six WAPE forums were successively held in Shanghai, Shimane(Japan), Beijing, Paris, Suzhou(China), Amherst(USA), and Mexico City (Mexico), Florianopolis (Brazil) during 2006-2013. Participants in past WAPE forums have come from over 50 countries in Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.
  • WRPE. The World Review of Political Economy is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal of Marxian Political Economy sponsored by WAPE and published by Pluto Journals. For more information including types of submissions that will be considered, please go to www.wapeweb.org.
  • WAPE Awards. The Distinguished Achievement Award of World Political Economy of the 21st Century, established by WAPE, has been granted annually since 2009 to recognize an outstanding book or article in political economy. It is intended to promote research in modern political economy around the world by granting the award to economists who have made important innovations in the theory or methodology of political economy since the year of 2001. The Marxian Economics Award, established by WAPE in 2011, is given to recognize an outstanding lifetime record of achievement in political economy. Its purpose is to promote the development of the research of Marxist economics around the world by granting the award to economists of different countries in the world who have made important innovations in the research of theories, methodology and application of Marxian economics. The 2014 WAPE Awards will be granted at the opening ceremony of the Ninth WAPE Forum. Nominations and applications can be sent to wapemember@gmail.com.

 The WAPE Secretariat

June 10, 2013

USM-AUT International Conference (UAIC) 2012 – Sustainable Economic Development: Policies and Strategies (Nov-12)

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UAIC 2012 (November 17th-18th, Malysia) aims to provide an interdisciplinary forum and to discuss the practical challenges in promoting sustainable economic development by providing a platform to share, ideas, experiences and research about all aspects related to it. The theme of the conference is based on three broad themes of Economic Growth and Development, Business and Society and Agriculture & Environment.

See the conference website for more information and to register.

Global multiregional dynamic general equilibrium model seminar (Apr-11)

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Dr James Lennox of Landcare Research will present on his development of a global multiregional dynamic general equilibrium model to the CGE group in Wellington, 26 April. James’s model is to be used within a framework for the integrated assessment of global climate change and policies. An abstract for the presentation will available closer to the date.

Contact Anita King if you wish to become part of the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) special interest group.