Our people

Associate Professor Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy is the founding director of the Economic Policy Centre and heads its Urban and Spatial Economics research hub. His policy-focussed research examines the impact of land use and transportation policies on housing and urban development.

Ryan is enthusiastic about translating economic research into practical advice for policymakers and has counselled domestic and foreign Ministers and Government Departments on land use and housing policy.

Prior to joining the University of Auckland in 2014, Ryan was a Research Economist in the Office of the Chief Statistician at the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in Washington, D.C. In this capacity he served on the United Nations London Group on Environmental Accounting.

Alexandre Dmitriev is a Senior Lecturer in Economics specialising in international macroeconomics and finance. His research aims to inform policymaking and relies on a variety of methodologies, including dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) modeling and simulation, applied econometrics, and machine learning. It broadly follows three major themes: (i) cross-country transmission of macroeconomic disturbances; (ii) international capital flows and the risk of sovereign default; and (iii) the application of computationally intensive estimation methods to macroeconomics.

His current research examines the role played by macroeconomic factors in determining national suicide rates. He also explores the application of machine learning methods to modeling international capital flows under the risk of default and optimal policy responses to them.

Prior to joining the University of Auckland in 2016, he held academic positions at UNSW Sydney and the University of Tasmania. He also had visiting positions at the Croatian National Bank and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Alexandre studied Economics at Stockholm University, Stockholm School of Economics, Uppsala University, and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and received his PhD in Economics in 2007 from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Barcelona School of Economics).

• Professor Henk Berkman
• Dr Claire Dale
• Professor Prasanna Gai
• Professor Emeritus Tim Hazledine
• Associate Professor John Hillas
• Associate Professor Susan St John
• Dr Steffen Lippert
• Professor Robert MacCulloch
• Professor Dimitris Margaritis
• Professor Peter Phillips
• Dr Erwann Sbai
• Professor Basil Sharp
• Dr Asha Sundaram

James Allan Jones, BEng (Hons), BCom (Hons), PhD

James is a Research Fellow at the Economic Policy Centre with a background in Economics and Engineering. His research aims to facilitate evidence-based policy making and employs a diverse toolkit including applied econometrics, spatial modelling, economic simulation, and machine learning.

He has applied this skillset to a wide range of critical issues including: urban development, congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions; house prices, heritage protections, and housing affordability; and the influence of social norms and gender dynamics on crime. His current projects focus on how transportation and housing policy can be used to encourage economic growth while transitioning the economy to more sustainable forms of production.

James holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (with honours) from Durham University (UK), a Bachelor of Commerce (with first class honours) from the University of Auckland and a PhD in Economics from the University of Auckland.

Yun So, BA, BCom (Hons), PhD

After receiving her PhD in Economics from the University of Auckland, Yun joined the Economic Policy Centre as a Research Fellow.

Her research interests include urban economics and social mobility, in particular, understanding how inequality of opportunity can hinder social mobility, especially for children from low-income families. Additionally, her research focuses on measuring geographical polarization of economic outcomes, including income inequality and income mobility.

She has experience working with de-identified microdata about people and households, utilizing the integrated data infrastructure (IDI), and investigating the impact of neighbourhood effects on later life outcomes.

Yun's current research project, funded by the Royal Society under a Marsden Grant, aims to assess the impact of zoning reforms on neighbourhood composition and economic outcomes. 

For more information please contact:

Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy
EPC Director
Phone: +64 9 923 7943
Email: r.mcgrevy@auckland.ac.nz