Worldonomics

This week the UQES Diversity team present an interview with Robin Barlow,  founding director of NineSquared, an economics consulting firm based in Brisbane.

 Robin has had a fascinating career, primarily focused on transport economics. In this episode we discuss the beginning of his career, his time in the public sector, and some of the ins and outs of how economic decisions are made in regard to public transport. Come back next week to hear Robin's perspective on private economic consulting, and the challenges and advantages of starting your own firm. 

With the rapid rise in house prices since the covid pandemic, we have been put in a pretty unique situation.  Home ownership for young people has decreased by 7%  and the proportion of disposable income required to pay rent has increased by 14% since 2019 all while the top 10% of households grew their wealth by 12%. It is no secret that we are in the midst of a crisis but what if there was an easy way to combat this wealth disparity. Introducing: inheritance taxes. 

In this episode, UQES is joined by esteemed economics Professor John Mangan to discuss why we should be bringing inheritance taxes back from the dead and why it is the “single most progressive tax” Australia could implement. 

Johns paper on the inheritance tax: https://aibe.uq.edu.au/project/back-dead-australian-inheritance-tax

Johns researcher profile: https://bel.uq.edu.au/profile/3094/john-mangan

In this episode, UQES interviews KK Tang, a Professor at the UQ School of Economics and the current Acting Director of Teaching and Learning.

KK has a background in Physics, having studied a Bachelor of Science (Honours) at the University of Hong Kong. He further pursued a Master in Economic Studies and Doctor of Philosophy at the Australian National University. In addition, KK has a Graduate Diploma in Applied Economics from Macquarie University.

KK has a keen research interest in applied economics, and has investigated development and health economics. Currently, KK is examining income insecurity, mortality uncertainty, inequality in opportunity, health inequality and mental health.

In the first part of the interview, we will explore the trajectory of KK's academic career and how his interest in applied economics was fostered.

In this episode,  UQES continues our interview with Gene Tunny, the Director of Adept Economics.

Gene has enjoyed a diverse career, moving from the public sector, where he worked for the Treasury, into the private sector, working as a consultant with Marsden Jacob associates and as the Director of Adept Economics, an economics consulting firm based in Brisbane.

Gene has also acted on the executive of the Economics Society of Australia and currently runs the Economics Explored podcast. In this second part of the interview, we will explore Gene's experience with the Economics Society of Australia, and hear from him about his experience teaching macroeconomic policy at UQ. We also hear from Gene about his experience starting and acting as the Director of Adept Economics. Finally, we will learn about his podcast Economics Explored, and hear a few tips about succeeding in the field.

In this episode,  UQES begins our interview with Gene Tunny, the Director of Adept Economics.

Gene has enjoyed a diverse career, moving from the public sector, where he worked for the Treasury, into the private sector, working as a consultant with Marsden Jacob associates and as the Director of Adept Economics, an economics consulting firm based in Brisbane. He also runs the Economics Explored podcast.

Gene has always been interested in both the research side of economics, as well as its applications to influence government policy. In this first part of the interview, we will explore Gene's experience with studying economics at UQ, what drew him to this particular field and his experience working in both the Queensland Department of Employment and Training and the Department of Industrial Relations. Finally, we will hear from him about his time spent working with the treasury, and working as a consultant. 

In the second part of our interview with Adrian Dudek we discuss his career transition from academia to industry. 

After Adrian's graduation from The Australian National University he was hired as a trader by Optiver. He stayed in this position for multiple years before transitioning to the role of head of Academic Partnerships within Optiver. In this episode Adrian discusses the hiring process at Optiver and his perspective on careers within the trading field, and what advice he would give to students looking to pursue jobs down this pathway.

In this episode, UQES interviews Adrian Dudek, a former trader at Optiver who has now stepped into the role of Director of Academic Partnerships at Optiver. 

Adrian has a background in Mathematics, studying a Bachelor of Mathematics with Honours at the University of Western Australia, followed by a PhD in Mathematics focusing in prime numbers from The Australian National University. Following his PhD studies Adrian joined industry as a trader at Optiver and has been with the company ever since. In this episode we will discuss Adrian's academic pathway.

In part two of this interview, we will discuss Adrian's experience in the professional world and his advice for new graduates as they enter the workforce. 

In this episode,  UQES continues our interview with Dr Mahdi Abolghasemi, a lecturer for the UQ School of Mathematics and Science.

Mahdi has a multi-disciplinary background in Engineering, Machine Learning, Business, and Statistics. Before joining the University of Queensland, Mahdi was a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher in Data Science & AI at Monash University, Australia.

Mahdi is interested in communicating science and applying his knowledge to solve industry and real-world problems. He has consulted several industries in Australia and Europe on supply chain optimisation, demand forecasting, energy price forecasting, and risk management.

In the second part of the interview, we will explore Mahdi's experience with the international symposium on forecasting, the possible career paths within forecasting and the important skills all forecasters should have.

In this episode,  UQES interviews Dr Mahdi Abolghasemi, a lecturer for the UQ School of Mathematics and Science.

Mahdi has a multi-disciplinary background in Engineering, Machine Learning, Business, and Statistics. Before joining the University of Queensland, Mahdi was a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher in Data Science & AI at Monash University, Australia.

Mahdi is interested in communicating science and applying his knowledge to solve industry and real-world problems. He has consulted several industries in Australia and Europe on supply chain optimisation, demand forecasting, energy price forecasting, and risk management.

In the first part of the interview, we will explore his experience in the field of forecasting and his involvement in the International Institute of Forecasters.

In this episode, UQES interviews a second-year PhD student in UQ School of Economics, Kieran Gibson. 

Kieran completed a Bachelor of Mathematics/Economics and Honours in Economics at UQ, earned the university medal for his undergraduate studies and earned Microeconomics Honours Prize in 2020 for his honour thesis. Since 2021 he is a PhD student and had the opportunity to be the course coordinator for arguably the hardest course offered by the School of Economics: ECON2050 Mathematical Economics.

In this second part of the interview, we will explore his postgraduate experience at UQ and what advice he has for students who plan to follow a similar pathway.

Podcast Music: https://www.purple-planet.com