Do you know someone who’d be interested in undertaking PhD studies in economics and policy for natural resources and the environment. Would they like to join an outstanding team at the University of Western Australia?

As part of a major new research effort on resource economics and environmental policy at the University of Western Australia, I am seeking a number of PhD students to join the team. There are a number of scholarships available. Some have a closing date for applications of 31 October 2007, but one will remain open until it is filled.

To complement and be part of the planned program of research, I would like to find students to work on topics from the following possibilities.

• The optimal balance of public environmental investment between localised and dispersed assets.
• Understanding the ways that policy program design influences the behaviour of environmental management organizations.
• Understand the ways that incentive payments for environmental works influence landholder behaviour.
• Developing and applying detailed bio-economic models of environmental and natural resource management problems, to identify strategies that will achieve the maximum benefits for the available resources.
• The economics of embedding environmentally friendly practices into farming businesses. How should the farming system be adapted to accommodate them? What are their benefits and costs to landholders? Implications for risk?
• Other related areas, such as policy design, and policy mechanism choice.

The scholarships are at the top end of the range, and include operating funds. Potential applicants should contact me, ideally before 31 October 2007, to discuss the possibilities.

David Pannell, The University of Western Australia