Evidence Portfolio

1.Name of Research Grouping: “International Development and Agricultural Economics”

2. Home Panel:“Economics, Commerce and Management” (Panel 10)

3. RFDC Codes: 3402 80% : 3502 20%

SEO Codes: 7202 60% : 7203 40%

4. Name of Researchers / Level / M/F / FTE / ECR / RFCD Code / SEO Code
1. Eddie Oczkowski / E / M / 100% / No / 3402 / 7202
2. Kishor Sharma / D / M / 100% / No / 3402 / 7203
3. Parikshit Basu / C / M / 100% / No / 3402 / 7203
4. Hailu Kidane / B / M / 100% / No / 3402 / 7202
5. Hazbo Skoko / B / M / 100% / No / 3502 / 7202

5.The Context Statement

History, strategic focus and research objectives

The strategic focus of the international development and agricultural economics (IDAE) research group is to preform research in two related areas: 1) international economics and development, and 2) agricultural economics and regional development. The focus primarilyinvolvestheoretically driven rigorous empirical economic researchwhich has important policy and/or strategic implications. The group’s research works towards enhancing the economic and environmental sustainability of both Australian regional communities and international developing countries.

A subsidiary strategic focus of the group is the development and fostering of research collaboration with a range of Charles Sturt University (CSU) international partner institutions. The Faculty of Business at CSU has important strategic and long standing course delivery relations with a number of partners in China and Malaysia. Group members have developed and continue to foster the human research capability of these partner institutions.

In a historical context, the group has evolved and developed in response to the University’s mission to support research into regional and rural communities. Initially (prior to 2003) an informal group within the economicsdiscipline of the University was formed to pursue research. The first formal group was (2003-2005) the University funded ($35k) community of scholars named: Economic Research into Sustainable Agriculture, Trade and Regional Development.Members of the group were (2003-2006) also part of the Australian Centre for Co-operative Research and Development (ACCORD), which from CSU’s prespective had a strong focus on economics issues for co-operatives in a regional and rural Australia context. Since 2006 group members have become part of the Economics and Regional Development (ERD) group of the Institute of Land Water and Society (ILWS). The ILWS is one of three centres for research excellence established by CSU. The ERD has received over $55k direct University and Faculty funding for 2006.

CSU provides strong financial and strategic management support for its Centres of Excellence, which are identified with particular areas of research strength. The ILWS was formed in 2005, from two predecessor groups to contribute to the designated major research area of “Agriculture, Wine Science, Land, Water and Rural Society”. The ILWS mission is “to be an internationally recognised provider of integrated research that is contributing to enhanced social and environmental sustainability in rural and regional areas”. The Centre has been formally accredited by the University up to 2011 and support has been guaranteed over this period. The University provides approximately $350,000 per annum to support the Institute, including base level operating funding, performance based funding (based on grants income and publications) and targeted funding to support particular initiatives. Funding for PhD scholarships and to free teaching and research staff to undertake a period of research only activity is also provided directly to accredited centres.

In summary, Tthe IDAE group aims to achieve excellence in research quality and positively impact on the development of regional and international communities.The over arching objective of the group is to conduct rigorous and methodically sound economics research which is ‘novel’ in theory or technique development and/or in the application of existing theory to a new and important context.of practical and policy relevance to Australian regional commodities and international developing countries.

Main achievements of the group over 2001-2006

The five members of this group published 43 refereed journal articles, 3 books, 12 book chapters and 30 refereed conference papers. This averages to 2.93 publications per member per year. Eight of the journal articles have appeared in theThomson ISI listed journals. In economics an ISI listing equates to approximately the top 25% of all journals. Two of the best outputs, thosepublished in Structural Equation Modeling and World Development have impact factors of over unity and are considered world leading journals. Members received $275,233 worth of external grants for research projects, which averages to $9,170 research funding per member per year.

During the period under review, members of this group were involved in leadership roles and cultivating the research environment within CSU and with international partners. Oczkowski was appointed Sub-Dean (Graduate Training) of the Faculty, overseeing higher degree research students. Basu acted as the professional doctorate program director for six months. Oczkowski was the CSU director of ACCORD. At At the international level, Sharma was appointed Sub-Dean (International Research) within the Faculty, a role designed tocultivate the research culture at international partner institutions. In addition, Sharma, Basu and Skoko have undertaken joint research with academic staff at partner institutions in China, Malaysia, Croatia, [HS1]Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro and Switzerland.

All members are actively involved in supervising doctoral students and examining theses. Six doctoral students graduated under the principal supervision of members during the period. Some of these students are now publishing their research findings in ISI listed journals such as the International Journal of Energy Research and Applied Economics and are having their research cited in reports by government authorities such as Airservices Australia.

Members of the group have also made significant contributions in research dissemination through conference organisation. Basu was the co-organiser of the International Conference on Contemporary Business (ICCB) hosted by the Faculty of Business in Australia in September 2006 (attended by 110 academics from Australia and overseas). Selected proceedings of the conference are being published as an edited book in 2007 by a leading Australian academic publisher (Australian Academic Press) with Basu as a joint editor. AusAID provided a grant (2005) to Sharma to host an international conference on Child Labour and WTO issues in Asia. This conference brought together about 35 leading experts in the field. The conference deliberations have resulted in the publication of a major book (2007) on this issue by a leading academic publisher (Ashgate:who? 2007). Oczkowski organised, with funding from the NSW Office of Fair Trading an ACCORD forum on ‘Water Reform, Co-operation and the Role of Co-operatives’ with various academic and industry speakers and attended by more than 100 participants.

Collaboration with other researchers, cohesion within the Research Grouping and national and international research links

All group members of the group are very actively involved in collaborative research, both within and outside the group. For example, within the group Oczkowski and Sharma have worked on various projects including the efficiency of manufacturing firms in Nepal and analysing theanalysis of ng the performance of the Australian’s manufacturing sector’s producing performance. Basu has conducted research with other ERD members (not members of the IDAE RQF submission) including Professor John Hicks the Dean of the Faculty and Dr Richard Sappey. Within the university but outside the IDAE group, group members have worked on numerous joint research projects.For example, Oczkowski has worked with Professor Andy Smith on various projects (grants of over $50K) pertaining to enterprise training and with Professor Mark Farrell on research relating to marketing orientation. In essence Oczkowski has brought his econometric expertise to projects in other business related areas.

Collaborative research has also been conducted with researchers outside the University. All group members have conducted joint projects with researchers from universities such as:AustralianNationalUniversity (Canberra), University of Technology Sydney (Sydney),,DeakinUniversity, La Trobe University, MacquarieUniversity (Sydney), GriffithUniversity (Brisbane) andCentralQueenslandUniversity (Rockhampton). These projects have related to issues such as: water reform and co-operatives;financial markets in India and south-east Asia; corporate social responsibility; and economic development in south Asia.?????????. Evidence of collaboration is demonstrated through research funding (over $200k with researchers from UTS) and publications in journal such as: Journal of Economic and Social Policy, International Business and Economics Research Journal, Delhi Business Review, and the Australian Journal of Communication., ???????

The International research collaboration of members has extended to uUniversities and institutions in the UK (University of Nottingham),China (Changchun Taxation University), India (Institute of Development Studies Kolkata), Malaysia (HELP University College), Croatia (University of Pula [HS2], Slovenia, University of Primorska), Serbia (University of Belgrade, University of Montenegro) (Name)) and , Switzerland ( (University of Applied Sscience), Name). Skoko has been a visiting fellow at several universities in the Balkan region.[HS3] These projects have related to issues such as: ICT Adoption in SMEs; welfare economics in transitional economies[HS4]; complex systems application in SMEs ICT investment evaluation; parallel imports and its protection; and the management of ICT in SMEs. Evidence of collaboration is demonstrated through publications in journal such as: Research issues examined include: ICT Adoption in SMEs, Welfare Economics in transitional economies[HS5], Complex systems application in SMEs ICT investment evaluation, Parallel imports and its protection, management of ICT in SMEs????????????? Evidence of collaborative research is clear and demonstrated in number of joint publications e.g book by M Skare and H skoko Beyond the ordinal welfare economics, in journals such as: ????????

Economic Research, 19 (1), 17-22.

Managing Global Transitions International Research Journal and the, 4(1), 25-40.

Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business., 8 (1), 35-54.

Through hisresearchcollaborationleadership role with CSU partnerinstitutions Sharma’smentoring ofinternational academics is expected to bring major outcomes in future. MentoredDeveloping researchers from CSU partner institutions have started presenting papers at international conferences. For example, the participation of Chinese scholars from CSU partner institutions at ICCB conference in 2006 was supported by a grant from AusAID. H Skoko is visiting fellow in several universities in the Balkan region and together with G Walker and T Heffernan is lecturer at University of Primorska Slovenia Summer School [HS6]

6.Eligible Researcher’s four best outputs.

Eddie Oczkowski

[1] Oczkowski, E., (2001) 'Hedonic Wine Price Functions and Measurement Error,' Economic Record, 77 (239), 374-382. (Impact Factor 0.351) (ISI ranking: 142 / 175 Economics) (Citation rate: 6 ISI, 26 Google)

This paper develops a technique for recognising measurement error in hedonic market price functions. It applies the technique to Australian table wine using various indicators of wine quality and reputation. It makes a contribution to technique development and provides a substantive applied contribution. The citations indicate the research’s impact in various countries including: Australia, France, United States and Germany. The Economic Record was established in 1925. It is the Journal of the Economic Society of Australia and is ranked 58 out of 159 journals in the authoritative European Economic Association ranking study (2003). It is the highest ranked Australian economics journal and is published by Blackwell.

[2] Oczkowski, E., (2002) 'Discriminating Between Measurement Scales using Non-nested Tests and 2SLS: Monte Carlo Evidence,' Structural Equation Modeling, 9 (1), 103-125. (Impact Factor 2.143) (ISI ranking: 3 / 31 Social Sciences Mathematical Methods) (Citation rate: 3 ISI, 6 Google) (Acceptance Rate: 10%-12%)

This research further develops and assesses the statistical properties of techniques for discriminating between statistical models which use competing measurement scales. The techniques are broadly applicable to various disciplines where measurement scales are used in developing models. The technique has been applied to Australian wine and measures of quality and reputation in publication [1] and my other research on enterprise training, and the marketing and learning orientation of firms. The citations of this article relate to areas such as: sociology and communication. The journal was established in 1994 and is published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

[3] Oczkowski, E., (2006) ‘Modelling Winegrape Prices in Disequilibrium,’ Agricultural Economics, 34 (1), 97-107. (Impact Factor 0.584) (103 / 175 Economics) (Citation rate: 1 ISI, 2 Google)(Acceptance Rate: 25%)

This paper extends the hedonic price approach to disequilibrium markets. Traditionally hedonic price functions assume that markets trade in equilibrium, this paper recognises that given the existence of contractual arrangements, supply fixity and market concentration, hedonic prices may be the outcome of a disequilibrium price adjustment process. The notion and method is applicable to any market which faces similar market circumstances. The novel application of this principle is to wine-grapes in Australia. The journal was established in 1986. It is the journal of the International Association of Agricultural Economists, published by Blackwell and has an international editorial board with members from 15 countries.

[4] Oczkowski, E., (2006) ‘Nash Bargaining and Co-operatives,’ Australian Economic Papers, 45 (2), 89-98.

This article develops the appropriate economic theory to explain how an agricultural co-operative may interact with a large food processor in a bilateral monopoly market situation. The paper makes a contribution to economic theoretical literature dating back to the 1960s. The paper was the lead article in its issue. The journal was established in 1965, is published by Blackwell and its editorial board consists of members from seven countries and has been re-admitted into the ISI database for 2007. The journal description suggests, Australian Economic Papers publishes ‘innovative and thought provoking contributions which extend the frontiers of the subject, written by leading international economists.’

Kishor Sharma

[1] Sharma, K (2006), ‘The Political Economy of Civil War in Nepal’, World Development, 34(7), 1237-53. (Impact Factor 1.298) (ISI ranking: 32 / 175 Economics) (Acceptance Rate: 19%)

This paper develops a framework, using the political economy literature, to investigate how failed development can contribute to civil conflict in developing countries. The paper challenges the conventional view and demonstrates that development failurerather than ethnic discrimination is the root of conflict. World Development is highly regarded in economics and many prominent scholars, including several Nobel Laureates have published their research findings in this journal. It falls within the top 18% economics journals listed in the ISI database.

[2] Oczkowski, E. and Sharma, K. (2005), ‘Determinants of Efficiency in Developing Countries: Further Evidence from Nepal’, Journal of Development Studies, 41 (4), 617-630. (Impact Factor 0.878) (ISI ranking: 67 / 175 Economics) (Citation rate: 1 ISI) (Acceptance rate: 20%)

This paper estimates and models the determinants of efficiency in the Nepalese manufacturing firms using a translog stochastic production frontier and maximum likelihood methods. The paper challenges the results of the previous studies based on highly aggregated data and provides some very useful policy insights. The Journal of Development Studies ranks among the top 38% of ISI listed economics journals. The journal was established in 1964. My contribution in writing this paper is about 40%.

[3] Sharma, K (2004),‘Horizontal and Vertical Intra-Industry Trade in Australian Manufacturing: Does Liberalisation Have any Impact?’, Applied Economics, 36, 1723-1730. (Impact Factor 0.522) (ISI ranking: 113 / 175 Economics) (Citation rate: Not Available ISI, 5 Google)

This paper, for the first time, disentangles Australia’s intra-industry trade (IIT) into horizontal and vertical intra-industry trade and models trade in the context of trade liberalisation. The paper demonstrates how the failure to disentangle IIT into horizontal and vertical components can produce misleading results. The paper makes an important contribution to the literature on IIT in general and international trade in particular. Applied Economics was established in 1968 and is published by Taylor & Francis Group. It has worldwide readership.

[4] Sharma, K. (2003), ‘Factors Determining India’s Export Performance’, Journal of Asian Economics, 14,(3), 435-446. (Citation rate: 245 Google, includes 22 cites of the Yale Discussion Paper No. 816) (Acceptance rate: 35%)

This paper investigates India’s export performance in a simultaneous equation framework and makes an important contribution to the debate about the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India’s export success. The paper has been increasingly cited(including the citation of Yale University discussion paper version by 21) which demonstrates its usefulness. The Journal of Asian Economics is regarded as one of the best Journals in Asian studies, and is published by Elsevier. The Journal has attracted contributions from many leading scholars, including Prof. T. N. Srinivasan (YaleUniversity) and Prof. J. N. Bhagwati (ColombiaUniversity), reflecting its academic standing.

Parikshit Basu

[1] Basu, P. K., Hicks, J., and Sappey, R. (2005). Chinese Attitudes to Trade Agreements in the Context of the Proposed Australia-China Free Trade Agreement, Economic Papers, 24(4), 294-308.

The paper is significant because it is an early study of general Chinese attitudes to an FTA with Australia based on primary surveys and interviews conducted in China. In the policy area, this study suggests that government and business may well need to find ways to reassure China but still proceed with difficult FTA discussions. ‘Economic Papers’ is a peer reviewed journal of the Economic Society of Australia that publishes articles on discussion of applied economic issues and policies. I conducted surveys and interviews in China and wrote the analysis sections – about 50% of total contribution.

[2] Basu, P. K., Hicks, J., and Sappey, R. (2006). Free Trade Agreements and Investment: A Chinese Perspective, Agenda, 13(2), 179-192. (Acceptance rate: 45%)

The significance of this article is the use of primary data to analyse Chinese attitudes towards free trade agreements (FTA) to stimulate foreign direct investments (FDI). Based on surveys and interviews conducted in China, it contributes to an area where evidence-based research is very scanty. ‘Agenda’ is a peer reviewed quarterly journal of the College of Business and Economics at The Australian National University. Agenda articles are indexed in ‘EconLit’, the electronic database of the American Economic Association. I conducted surveys and interviews in China and wrote the analysis sections – about 50% of total contribution.

[3] Barker, M.; Basu, P. K. and McCarthy, P. (2001) ‘ Managing community involvement: Towards a benchmarking schema’, Australian Journal of Communication, 28(1),123-136. (Citation rate: 2 Google)