BSc ANU, MEc Monash, PhD Melbourne

Senior Lecturer

Career Summary

Dr Hugh Sibly was appointed as a lecturer in the School of Economics and Finance in 1992, after completing a PhD at the University of Melbourne. He has continued with the School as a senior lecturer since 1996. Dr Sibly has periodically acted as Assistant Commissioner for the Tasmanian Government Prices Oversight Commission (http://www.gpoc.tas.gov.au/) and is a member of the Copyright Tribunal (http://www.copyrighttribunal.gov.au).

Research Interests

• Behaviour Economics, Pricing and Macroeconomics: This is an ongoing project, which aims to understand how market imperfections, particularly with a psychological basis (eg loss aversion) affects prices, and thus macroeconomic performance. It is conducted principally in conjunction with Professor Ian McDonald (University of Melbourne)
• Pricing and Access to National Parks: It is often desirable to regulate access to national parks and other natural areas. However, the methods used to regulate access in practice are usually inefficient. This project aims to identify the efficient access level, and discuss problems associated with achieving that access level in practice.
• Urban Water Pricing: This project grew from my involvement as "Assistant Commissioner" at the Government Prices Oversight Commission on various investigations into urban water pricing. On mainland Australia there is often said to be a "water crisis". This project aims to identify the best response to this crisis, and compare that to current policy. Broadly speaking, I argue that the current crisis has its roots in inappropriate pricing principles adopted by water authorities.
• The Determination of Goods Quality: This project involves improving the fundamental way in which theoretical economic modelling of quality determination is conducted. It aims to model how the variations in customers substitutability of quality for quantity influences pricing and market structure. This approach has many possible applications, including determing the relationship between market structure and quality determination.

Units

• BEA235 - Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge
  
• BEA409 - Special Topics in Economics & Finance
  

Selected Publications:

• Hugh Sibly, 2007, 'Loss Aversion, Price and Quality', Journal of Socio-Economics, 36, pgs. 771-788
• Sibly, Hugh, 2006, 'Urban Water Pricing', Agenda, 13(1)
• Sibly, Hugh and Ian McDonald, 2005, 'The Diamond of Macroeconomic Equilibria and Non-Inflationary Expansion', Metroeconomica, 56(3), pgs. 393-409
• Sibly, Hugh, 2002, 'Loss Averse Customers and Price Inflexibility', Journal of Economic Psychology, v23(4), pgs. 521-538
• Sibly, Hugh and Ian McDonald, 2001, 'How Monetary Policy can have Permanent Real Effects with only Temporary Nominal Rigidity', Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 48(5), pgs. 532-46
• Sibly, Hugh, 2001, 'Price Inflexibility in Markets with Repeat Purchasing', Journal of Macroeconomics, 23(3), pgs. 459-475