Future postgraduate student scholarships

Accounting, economics and finance projects

Historical investigations of stock market volatility

The volatility that stock markets exhibit remains an important topic in modern finance. Whilst models that predict future volatility have been developed and continue to be discussed, the historical patterns of stock market volatility and the factors that may explain these movements represents a fertile area for research. This project would describe the volatility exhibited by the Australian stock markets and develop an insightful discourse that explores possible explanatory factors.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

Chronological history of stock market volatility
Complementary investigation of explanatory factors
Enhanced understanding of Australian stock market volatility

Supervisor

Dr Peter Phillips obtained his PhD in financial economics from USQ in 2003. His current research interests span topics in both finance and economics. In finance, Peter researches capital markets topics and superannuation. He has publications forthcoming in leading Australian economics journals as a result of his investigation of self managed superannuation funds. In economics, Peter concentrates on the topics of defence economics and methodology. He has publications in leading international defence economics journals as a result of his investigation of terrorism and is working on the methodological and philosophical questions raised by the deployment of mathematics in economics. Peter has a number of working papers on a variety of topics (asset price diffusion, equilibrium, initial public offerings) either under review at various journals or available publicly on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). With Professor Julie Cotter, Peter was a recipient of a competitive 2007/2008 AFAANZ Research Grant.

Terrorism and the financial markets

The impact of terrorism on financial markets has attracted some research. This project would explore this issue in the Australian context and build on studies conducted overseas.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

Enhanced understanding of the impact of terrorism/expected terrorism on the financial system
Development of policy recommendations that may follow from the study.

Supervisor

Investor choice (particularly in superannuation)

We are attempting to build a profile in self managed superannuation fund research. One area of this research is determining how investors choose their assets. The project team has contacts in the industry that should facilitate survey-based research in this area.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

Enhanced understanding of the microstructure of superannuation funds.
And how the trustees choose their assets.

Supervisor

Microfinance / Small Financial Institutions / Issues in Financial Institutions Management in China / Economic Impact Analysis

Supervisor

Dr Delpachitra's research interests include: Banking and Financial Management, Economic and Financial Forecasting, Micro Credit and Insurance, Microfinance, Corperate Finance and Planning, Cooperative Banking and Rural Credit

Financial Economics

Research work focuses on international equity investment, bond and foreign direct investment; international financial integration; home bias; cross listing of companies, quality of institutions. Research involves both country level and firm level study.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

Bilateral factors responsible for explaining the overall size of countries’ investments.
Effect of financial frictions in markets on the structure of international allocations.
Implications of international investments’ on countries’ financial economic policies.
Salient features of increase in international financial integration on regional basis (APEC, MENA etc.) and their financial economic policy impact.
Determinants of cross border investments and geographical bias.
Impact of direct and indirect barriers on home bias.
Determinants and financial economic analysis of cross listing of companies.
Effect of quality of institutions on international investments.

Supervisor

Dr Anil Mishra’s research interests lie in the area of Financial Economics. He has published in quality national and international journals.

Investigation of the role of security analysts in capital markets

The proposed research will investigate the role of security analysts in relation to disclosures of information by companies. Little is known about the role of analysts in relation to disclosures by management. In particular, while we know that managers use voluntary disclosures to convey their private information to capital markets, we don’t understand what revised analyst forecasts add to this process. Possible roles for analysts include information dissemination, monitoring/ adding credibility to company voluntary disclosures, assessing and adjusting the disclosures in light of their knowledge of the firm and industry. By examining the reactions of security analysts to management disclosures, we can increase our understanding of the role of security analysts in improving the functioning of capital markets.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

Ascertain how analyst reports and forecasts differ to those provided by company managers
Examine how analysts use their knowledge of the company to assess management disclosures
Determine what benefits analyst reports and forecasts provide to investors
An increased understanding of the role of security analysts in improving the functioning of capital markets.

Supervisor

Professional Julie Cotter is an experienced PhD supervisor and has published her research in high quality national and international journals. She regularly examines PhD thesis from other universities and reviews articles for high quality academic journals. Professor Cotter is also interested in supervising research dissertations in the areas of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, and other topics related to financial reporting and capital markets.

International Environmental Politics and Policy; Politics of Climate Change; Environmental Activism; The politics of water reform; Agriculture politics and policy; Sustainable production landscapes.

Environmental politics considers the factors that determine which issues reach the political agenda and which do not, how policy is developed to ameliorate environmental issues, and the difficulties in effectively implementing environment policy. Research in environmental politics is also concerned with the wider political milieu in which environmental issues arise, are popularised and in which key environmental actors seek to have them successfully resolved.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

Deeper understanding of the relationship between societies and the environment
Exploration of opportunities for the resolution of serious environmental issues
Investigating the constraints that the political environment presents for resolving biophysical issues

Supervisors

Dr Cassandra Star is Lecturer in Politics and Acting Head of the Politics Discipline in the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance in the Faculty of Business, USQ. She is also a member of the Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments at USQ. Cassandra holds a PhD from Monash University in environmental politics and international relations. Her main teaching areas are government, business relations, political theory, political institutions and environmental politics. Dr Star has presented at conferences in Australia and internationally on her work. Her current research focus is on the politics of climate change from both governmental and non-governtmental dimensions.

Dr Geoff Cockfield is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and Economics, and Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Business at USQ. He is also a member of the Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments. He teaches introductory economics, political theory and environmental politics. His research interests includes rural policy, rural development, agri-environmental policy and sustainable landscapes. In additional to these topics he is also interested in farm forestry.

Environmental and resources economics

Environmental and resource economics is a fast growing area which is at the cutting edge of many resource management and policy making issues. Research in this area will allow candidates to develop expertise in the application of economics to problems of environmental and natural resource use, management and policy analysis, which can be applied in many circumstances, both in the public and private sector jobs, and consultancies. Boundries of the field are sufficiently flexible to enable potential researchers to achieve depth in theory, analytical techniques or real world application.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

develop economic, social and environmental approaches to sustainable development
develop skills in analysing economics of water including water market and policy, trading and pricing issues; carbon market and trading; energy economics; health economics
build a more solid foundation in policy making through applying different methods of economic valuation, market-based instruments and tools of applied econometrics
integrate non-market benefits/costs into economic analysis (e.g. cost-benefit analysis)

Supervisor

Dr Khorshed Alam is a Lecturer in Economics at the Faculty of Business, University of Southern Queensland. Khorshed holds a PhD in environmental and resource economics from Murdoch University, Western Australia, and a Masters in Economics from the Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands. His main teaching areas, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at USQ, include economics, economic policy analysis, applied econometrics, research methology and environmental economics for sustainable growth. He has presented papers at Australasian and international confrences and has been published in the areas of resource economics, cost-benefit analysis, sustainability, economic impact assessment, development issues and the economic valuation. He has undertaken consultanices for various governement agencies in Australia and overseas. He is a member of a number of professional associations, including the Australian Economists Society, the Australian Agriculture and Resource Economics Society and the Australian Center for Sustainable Catchments at USQ.

Economics policy analysis and impact assessment

Economic analysis provides important information about the efficient allocation of resources. On the other hand, appropriate assessment of social and economic impact allows decision makers to understand the potential consequences of an intervention and to undertake mitigation actions. These two key areas of economics provide a framework for policy and practical experience for analysts, professional economists and decision makers in government, academic and business and international organisations.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

design macroeconomic and microeconomic models to explain policy choices
assess the appropriateness of monetary, fiscal and other economic policies
develop theoretical and applied econometric model
develop methods of socio-economic impact assessment and assess their applicability

Supervisor

Intergration of financial and environmental sustainability in agribusiness. Also projects that link finincial performance with environmental impacts

Supervisor

Dr Geoff Slaughter's research Interests inlcude environmental management accounting and environmental reporting; integration of management accounting systems and financial management techniques to facilitate profitable and sustainable natural resource management in agribusiness. Dr Slaughter is currently involved in a number of research projects, such as financial risks of returning rehabiliated mined land to grazing in the Bowen Basin,: The biodiversity impacts of mulga fodder harvesting in South-West Queensland, and On-Farm economic/financial analysis of Macadamia farms in Eastern Australia.

Risk free instrument and its rate of return

CAPM provides an important implication and role of risk free rate of return with which investors can attain a portfolio beyond the efficient frontier. This project attempts to investigate the existence of risk free rate of return in support of CAPM and cost of risk free instrument.

Expected Outcomes and Benefits

identify whether the risk free rate of return is uniform across the border.
provide some quantitative measrument of market regulations to provide and protect risk free instrument.
provide emprical support for CAPM theory.

Supervisor

Dr Taiji Watanabe is a senior lecturer of finance and teaches post graduate courses in Finance. He practices law as a solicitor and provides financial consultancy at an international consulting firm in Texas USA. He specialises in corporate finance, corporate governance, derivatives, corporate law, financial law, and international private and public laws. He services a chairmanship to the Professional and Regional Engagement Committee which is responsible to liaise with professional bodies and deliver community engagement. Prior to joining USQ, Dr Watanabe taught at, among others, State University of New York in New York USA, Hong Kong Baptist University in Hong Kong, and Monash University in Melbourne. He worked as an analyst and law enforcement officer at Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and furnished technical advice to a number of exchanges in the Pacific Rim and USA.

Dr Watanabe is also a funding member of the first public hedge funds company in Japan. Dr Watanabe’s research on economic microstructures in relation to trading rules and auction mechanism of derivatives received Chicago Board of Trade Best Paper Award on Futures and Options.