Scoop reports that CGD visiting fellow John Gibson has been named Economist of the Year by the independent research group, NZIER.
From the article:
"Accepting the award last week, Prof Gibson said he had always been interested in engaging with public policy debate, but that research-based findings were not always reflected in policy directions chosen by government. He also encouraged more university-based economists to become involved in public policy debates.
“John richly deserves this award for his tireless pursuit of answers to important economic questions of our time,” said fellow economist and Dean of Waikato Management School, Professor Frank Scrimgeour. “The NZIER citation notes how John’s students and colleagues have learnt from him how vital it is to ask meaningful questions, gather reliable data, analyse those data rigorously, and then to disseminate the findings in a way that will inform debate on the issue.”
John Gibson took a bachelors and masters degree in agricultural science at Lincoln University before completing his PhD at Stanford University in the United States in 1998. He first joined the faculty at Waikato Management School in 1991 and recently rejoined in 2006.
He is currently a Senior Research Associate at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research and a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington DC. His other research interests include poverty measurement, where he has been a member of an expert group advising the United Nations Statistical Division, the design and analysis of household survey data, and economic development, especially in China and other Asian and Pacific economies."