ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR REPORT (ECONOMICS)

By Dr. Hui Feng, Associate Professor Associate Director (Economics)

I am excited to present the annual report for the Economics programs of the School of Management, Economics and Mathematics (MEM) at King's University College for the academic year 2022-2023. As the Associate Director of Economics, I am pleased to report that we have had a successful year in many areas, including program development and research activity.

Highlights on Program Development:

1. We have completed all preparations for de-streaming, which means that both honours and non-honours stream students will take the same intermediate economic theory courses, including Micro, Macro, and Econometrics. This change will take effect in September 2023. We anticipate that this will allow more students to qualify for our honours and major programs in Economics. To assist students with the academic challenges of this transition, we have prepared tutorials for each course before tests and final exams. Three course coordinators have been assigned to the three intermediate economic theory courses, and we are ready to guide our students to achieve a higher level of achievement than they originally planned.

2. Trial tutorials were organized in the second semester for ECO1022 to prepare students for their midterm and final exams.

We received positive feedback from our students, which has provided us with valuable experience in organizing lab tutorials for the intermediate theory courses in the next school year.

3. We have developed two advanced courses in financial economics, which will pave the way for setting up the honours specialization (HSP) in Financial Economics. We have also successfully added both a 2000- and 3000-level field course on the popular topic of the economy of China to our course offerings at King’s.

4. We are currently preparing additional new courses to add to our future calendar. This includes Environmental Economics, Sports Economics, Economics of Wars and more.

Highlights on Research Activity:

1. We established the Finance and Economics Research Group in September 2023. Several joint research projects among our MEM faculty are underway as a result of the monthly research meetings. Outside speakers were also invited to present at the meetings. With the help of the King’s Research office, we held two meetings about how to apply for external grants. Our junior faculty members have been very active in taking up leadership roles in the Finance and Economics Research Group monthly meetings.

2. A conference between King’s and its international partner universities has been proposed, and the committee to organize the conference has been established. Preparations have begun for this fall conference.

3. Our Economics faculty members have achieved excellent research outcomes this year. Dr. Adian McFarlane, the leading researcher, has six new journal articles to add to his research portfolio, bringing his total to 37 as of May 2023.

Other Highlights:

1. Dr. McFarlane has been tenured and promoted to Associate Professor, effective July 2023.

2. Dr. Jingjing Xu and Dr. Jafar El Armali have successfully defended their PhD theses in November 2022 and earned their doctorates.

3. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Natalia Bezmaternykh, our eighth economist, who will join us in July 2023. Her research interests are environmental economics and international trade.

In conclusion, we have made significant strides in program development, research activity, and personal accomplishments. We remain committed to providing our students with an exceptional education that prepares them for success in their chosen careers. I look forward to another successful year ahead.