Research in Business and Economics covers a wide range of disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary areas including Accounting, Actuarial Studies, Economics, Finance, Business and Statistics.
Our research-led teaching programs give students access to both the basics of their discipline and the cutting edge of international research. We take pride in our ability to reach an audience outside the university and our engagement in collaborative research with external partners.
Business and Economics has a strong global focus, achieved through international research collaborations, a large number of international higher degree research students, and a range of research projects focusing on globalisation of labour and capital markets, regional economic developments and the global challenge of climate change.
A/Prof Melanie Beresford
Associate Dean, Research
Major Research Areas in the Faculty
This Bioinformatics research group is a transdisciplinary group integrating ideas from molecular biology, mathematics, statistics and computing. Projects relate to DNA, RNA and proteins. They include: exploring how statistical methods might resolve the question of the origin of introns; devising new statistical methods for classification, clustering and imputation in microarray experiments; developing a novel approach to protein structure prediction; and investigating optimal animal nutrition at a macro-level.
This Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics research group uses modern statistical methods to analyse biomedical data. It works in collaboration with medical research groups, including the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre (CTC), the University of Sydney, the Australasian Research Institute, Brainnet, Concord Hospital, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, and other departments of Macquarie University including Linguistics and Biological Science.
Current research topics include: biomarker surrogacy evaluation and epidemiological studies of patients with colorectal cancer; the effect of tissue technology on vaginal paravaginal repair; the influence of listeners’ sense of identity and level of intergroup familiarity on their impressions of accented English; surgical interventions; nutrition; assisted reproductive technologies; latent variable models for asthma classification; the treatment and outcome histories of patients following myocardial infarction; how to model integrating evidence related to cardiovascular disease and breast cancer applications; Markov modelling of quality of life and effects of treatment decisions; and orthodontic applications.
The Burma Economic Watch (BEW) research group produces Burma Economic Watch, a periodical that provides up-to-date and reliable data, analysis and commentary on the economy of Burma. Information on the Burmese economy is both difficult to obtain and notoriously unreliable, while comment and analysis are often only scarcely less so. The aim of the journal is to contribute to improving each of these areas and to encourage informed debate. In doing so the BEW group has attained an outstanding international reputation for its economic research and commentary on this isolated, yet important, country.
This Financial Risk Group focuses on the financial implications of risk. Risks include those arising out of global capital markets fluctuations, climate change, market risks, foreign exchange, financial statements, longevity retirement, health, default, bankruptcy, and regulatory risk. These risks impact all sectors of society: individuals, corporations, governments and regulatory authorities. The key research agenda for the Financial Risk Group is to better understand, integrate, manage and price financial risk to allow their efficient and equitable distribution within our economic system.
The Climate Risk Group in the Economics Department is attached to one of Macquarie University’s Concentrations of Research Excellence, and works in conjuction with researchers in the Division of Earth and Life Sciences.
The Economic and Culture research group applies economic analysis to problems in culture and the arts. Research topics include: economic circumstances of artists; the functioning of non-profit firms in the performing arts; the relationship between economic policy and cultural policy; the economic structure and performance of cultural industries; effects of economic globalisation on culture; the role of culture in economic development; and the economics of cultural heritage.
The Gender Relations group is involved in research exploring women’s contemporary work experiences, focusing particularly on identifying their current position in the labour market, the extent to which this is changing and how greater equality and opportunities can be created for Australian women at work. Research in these areas contributes to a greater understanding of equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination legislation, which forms part of a critical broader research agenda within the Labour Management Studies Foundation examining contemporary issues for women at work.
The Globalisation of Knowledge and Service Industries group integrates the disciplines of strategic management, international business, marketing, information systems and economics, and aims to analyse the effects that the shift from a manufacturing to a knowledge- and services-based economy is having on business. A key focus of the current research program is on Exporting, Off-shoring and In-sourcing in the Knowledge and Services sectors worldwide. Other related research projects include: management of knowledge in domestic and multinational enterprises, technology transfer, migration of knowledge workers and knowledge-based economic development.
The Information and Ccommunications Technology group’s core areas of enquiry are: (i) the consequences of innovations in ICT for business and the economy; (ii) the impact on efficiency, productivity and standard of living brought about by greater consumer and producer choice enabled by ICT; (iii) the emergence of new interdisciplinary areas as a result of modern developments in ICT; and (iv) the extent to which the application of ICT-enhanced innovations to measurable outcomes can aid policy makers at a national level.
The Learning and Teaching research group focuses on the ‘Scholarship of Teaching and Learning’, namely the two key areas of academic work: research and teaching.
Current projects investigate the pedagogical basis of the disciplines, and cover a range of overlapping issues concerned with learning and teaching at the university level. They include:
- the development of research skills;
- graduate capabilities and the transition to work;
- assessment and feedback;
- teaching and learning methods, such as peer assisted learning;
- the research-teaching-industry nexus; and
- the role of e-learning in learning.
Targeting the domain of Relationship Marketing, the Marketing & Strategy research group studies issues of relational exchange within business and community organisations.
The Organisational Governance and Performance Research Network (OGPRN) draws on inter- and intra-disciplinary theories to better understand the nature and role of accounting information in stakeholder decision making. It seeks to examine empirically common and distinctive reporting practices across for-profit, public and not-for-profit sectors and in different organisational forms.
Research on causes of corporate collapses highlights the importance of effectively linking organisational strategies with governance structures and performance management systems; the OGPRM aims to bridge the gap between academics and practitioners through active engagement and dissemination of research findings.
Although international competition for skilled labour has never been more intense among countries, education, immigration, and innovation are usually studied independently of each other. The Skilled Labour Research group studies skill formation and flows, and provides opportunities within Macquarie University for interdisciplinary research amongst researchers and policymakers from the areas of labour markets, migration, education, innovation and development.
