ALUMNUS PROFILE: GAURAV MALIK
A spotlight on a social entrepreneur in India
BMO LECTURE ANNOUNCEMENT
Join us on Oct 4 for an insightful lecture on Taxation Reform with Richard Blundell
DISCUSSION ON TAXATION AND BC
Faculty will discuss the role of taxation and BC's economy at a free public event
ALUMNI UPDATES
Keeping in touch with alumni across the globe
STUDENT AWARDS
Showcasing some of our very best undergraduate students
HONOURS AND AWARDS
SFU Economics Faculty received over $550,000 for research in 2013
RESEARCH IN THE NEWS
Examining 160 years of real commodity prices
SFU STAFF ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Christine Harper was awarded the 2012 staff achievement award in humanitarianism
AROUND THE WEB
Showcasing publications that feature SFU Economics members
Gaurav Malik (BA honours, 2010) is a social entrepreneur that is making the world a brighter place. Gaurav (above) is demonstrating the Nuru POWERCycle that charges LED lights for rural communities.
Gaurav is the current Co-Founder and Director of Partnerships for Nuru Energy in India. Nuru Energy is a start-up, social enterprise born out of Rwanda and Kenya, Africa. They are working to address the global challenge of energy poverty at the Base of Pyramid (BoP). SFU Economics taught Gaurav how to think like an economist and develop the skills to start his career.
After graduating in 2010 with bachelor of arts, honours in Economics, and a minor in philosophy, Gaurav began his career with Nuru Energy in India
Nuru Energy
Nuru Energy is a social startup that provides a renewable energy source for rural areas that cannot access electricity. Village level entrepreneurs (VLE) use Nuru Energy’s pedal generator (Nuru POWERCycleTM, pictured above) to recharge LED-based, modular, and multifunctional Nuru Lights for customers in their community. In India, Nuru Lights are also sold with Solar Chargers and other accessories, such as mobile phone chargers, to provide additional utility to off-grid populations.
The POWERCycleTM, an incredibly efficient pedal generator, produces enough power in 20 minutes of gentle pedaling to charge a five Nuru Lights for 10-30 hours each. Local entrepreneurs use microfinance loans to cover the capital for the generator while Nuru Energy receives a small fee based on how much energy has been charged. A single entrepreneur can charge 300-400 Nuru Lights a week, sometimes earning more in an hour, than they previously earned in an entire day.
Gaurav’s Advice to Students
Gaurav advises students to find your passion and challenge yourself by immersing yourself in an unfamiliar environment. In order to do this, Gaurav had to take risks and learn not to be afraid. He also believes that you should learn how to quit if your interests do not align with your current path.
After Graduation: Gaurav Expands Nuru Energy
Gaurav was hired as a research fellow with Nuru Energy in Odisha, India. Gaurav conducted a feasibility study to test if Nuru Energy’s business model could be adapted to India. Over a period of six months, he ran a pilot project to test the Nuru Energy’s village level entrepreneur (VLE) based business model in multiple villages measuring VLE income, kerosene usage at the household level, changes to these variables, basis changes to lever such as the upfront price of the Nuru Lights and different marketing activities.
He applied the skills he learned from SFU to use incentives to influence sales, income and consumer behavior. Using his insights, he worked with a team to expand Nuru Energy’s operations to multiple states in India.
As the Director of Partnerships, Gaurav spends his time developing relationships with institutional and distribution partners, and funders. He analyzes market research and works with the product development team to further business development in India.
Experience at SFU
Even after three years, Gaurav believes that his education at SFU challenged him and changed his perception of the world. He recognizes that ECON 409W, Seminar in Economics Thought, with Professor Larry Boland was the one class helped develop his thought process. Gaurav’s honours thesis on "the Determinants of Fertility Rates in Rural India" was the highlight of his degree, and he was able to explore an area that he was passionate about.
Gaurav will continue his education with an MBA at INSEAD Business School in France, one of the top MBA program in the world. After completing his MBA, Gaurav hopes to return to a career in International Development and Social Entrepreneurship.
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From banking regulations to taxation, BMO public lectures are informative and engaging. The next BMO Public Lecture is scheduled for Friday Oct 4 2013 with Richard Blundell at Harbour Centre, SFU's Vancouver Campus.
Using Evidence to Improve the Tax System: Lessons From the Mirrlees Review
Richard Blundell will explain how taxes influence our daily decisions and how tax reform could be used to improve the workings of the economy, creating a more efficient society. He will discuss the findings from the Mirrlees Review, a comprehensive analysis of tax systems. Richard was part of the team of international experts that developed the Mirrlees Review and recommended key tax reforms across the whole tax system.
His lecture will focus on the taxation of earnings and how tax design can change behavior to improve the efficient running of the economy. Using examples from academic research, Richard Blundell will break down the theories that inform the tax reform and clarify the challenges, benefits, and outcomes.
Richard Blundell's Biography
Richard Blundell is the David Ricardo Chair of Political Economy at University College London and the Research Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He is a recipient of numerous awards including the Yrjö Jahnsson Prize, Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize, and the Sandmo Prize.
He has served as President of a number of Economics Associations and has been on the editorial board for many academic journals. For more information on Richard Blundell’s research and awards, please visit his website.
BMO Public Lecture Schedule
Friday Oct 4, 2013
5:30 PM Lecture
Harbour Centre, SFU’s Vancouver Campus
The BMO Public lecture is free and open to the public, but seats are limited. Registration will be available online in September on the BMO Public Lecture website. An invitation will be sent out in September to SFU Economics Alumni. SFU Economics would like to thank BMO as a sponsor for this event.
Join SFU Economics Faculty members and Economics Experts for a discussion about taxation and the BC economy. The topic, date, and speakers will be finalized for early Oct. This will be a free event, open to the public, but registration will be required. Please check the SFU Economics home page in early September for more details.
Is your alumni information up to date? SFU Economics will send out invitations to events such as the BMO Lectures in the Fall and a new Alumni social in March. You can update your contact information with SFU Alumni Relations.
The BMO public lecture with Dr. Ross Levine was an informative and engaging event. Over one hundred people attended this event on April 26 2013. Dr. Levine is one of the co-authors of “Guardian of Finance”.
This book is a timely analysis of the (in)actions of financial regulators that lead to the financial crisis in the late 2000’s and why current regulations are on the path to repeat history. Dr. Levine proposed ways to rectify this situation, however powerful forces will work against reform.
At the reception, alumni and students mingled with faculty and the general public. SFU Economics was excited to see many familiar faces at this event.
We would like to thank our sponsors for this event: Bank of Montreal, SFU Alumni Association and SFU Economics.
Missed the Spring 2013 BMO Lecture? Watch Dr. Ross Levine's Lecture on "Guardians of Finance: Making regulators work for us" online.
SFU Economics alumni have been featured in the following news stories:
- Jorge Maia, MA '85, was part of a team that was named the 2013 Thomson Reuters Economist of the year. The macroeconomics team includes Gerhard Kuhn, Nico Kelder and Likeleli Makaulule. Jorge is the Head Director of Economic Research and Information at Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited. More details can be found on this news page.
- The Vancouver Sun featured former Lions and Economics Alumni, Paul Cheng, who aspires to be Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter.
- The AQ Magazine interviewed Niels Veldhuis (BBA'99, MA'01), on his new role as President of the Fraser Institute.
A Forum for Sharing your News
Are you an SFU Economics alumni? Let us know what you are up to. We are always interested in hearing about alumni accomplishments, and finding stories that can feature in our next newsletter.
Contact Rebecca Ho, Communications Officer at econcomm@sfu.ca
Ramazan Gencay awarded grant from INET and CIGI
Congratulations to Ramazan Gençay for receiving a $178,500 grant from the Institute of New Economic Thinking (INET) and The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). The title of his project is “Identification and Modeling Risk Cascades with Dynamic Network Models”.
John Vanderkamp Prize awarded to Nicolas Schmitt
Nicolas Schmitt received the John Vanderkamp Prize for the best article published in Canadian Public Policy in 2012. The title is "Temporary Foreign Workers and Regional Labour Market Disparities in Canada" and the co-author is Dominique M. Gross, SFU School of Public Policy. This annual prize is named after the founding editor of Canadian Public Policy.
SSHRC Grants
The Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) is a federal research funding agency that supports postsecondary-based research excellence in humanities and social science. The SSHRC Insight program intends to build and deepen our understanding of individuals and societies.
In 2013, SFU Economists have received over $400,000 from Insight Grants and Insight Development Grants for the following projects:
- Douglas Allen for "Economics of Same Sex Households"
- Alexander Karaivanov for “Obstacles to Credit, Risk Sharing and Investment in Developing Communities - a dynamic structural approach to measure and policy evaluation”
- Andrew McGee for “ Whoever you want me to be: Personality and Incentives”
- Arthur Robson for “Biological and Cultural Evolution of Preference and Strategic Behaviour”
- Hitoshi Shigeoka for "The Effects of Competition and Peer-to-peer Teaching on Learning"
John Chant Award
Aaron Romero was the recipient of the John Chant Award for graduating with the highest CGPA in the major program.
Aaron Romero completed a second degree at SFU, majoring in Economics with a minor in Math. Aaron’s original intent was to get a Ph.D. in Economics, but for now he has decided to re-enter the workforce.
He has offered the following advice for future students: "take as much math as you can handle. It is, of course, invaluable for graduate studies in Economics. But for life in general, I would say that you just can’t go wrong with math.”
Cliff Lloyd Memorial Award and Jack Knetsch Award
Erik Drysdale (left) was award the Cliff Lloyd Memorial Award for the highest CGPA in the economics honours graduating class, and the Jack Knetsch Award for the best essay in the Honours Thesis course.
Erik Drysdale has always been passionate about economics. Growing up, he dreamed of being as outspoken as Milton Friedman, as intellectually trail blazing as Keynes, and as well dressed as Schumpeter. Erik thoroughly enjoyed his time at SFU as both a student and a TA.
He credits his success to his parents, his friends, his teachers and peers, as well as the beautiful West Coast mountains and forests. Besides economics, Erik’s interests include racquet sports, hiking, podcasts, and classical music. Erik will be pursuing an MA in Economics at Queen’s this September and a PhD, hopefully at a West Coast university, after that.
David Jacks, SFU Economist, released a working paper that examines commodity prices over 160 years for 30 commodities that measured $7.89 trillion (USD) in production for 2011. He found that some real commodity prices (inflation adjusted) have been on the rise since 1950.
Commodity prices have super-cycles which can be decades long. Booms and busts occur around the super-cycles and are becoming more pronounced over time. The booms and busts are associated with higher commodity price volatility and may affect commodity exporting economies.
David Jack's research on commodity prices has been widely discussed in the Economist (Commodity Prices, Shocks and Ores, and Resource Prices), the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, and the Vancouver Sun.
Christine Harper has been awarded the 2012 SFU Staff Achievement Awards in Humanitarianism.
Christine is a true superhero, with a dual identity! She is Mrs. Canada, one of Canada’s proudest ambassadors and archpartriots. With her partner, Captain Canada, the duo has been supporting community gatherings, special events, and fundraisers.
They can be seen in their regal red and white outfits at events across Canada, and sometimes internationally. They support community spirit, children's events, and fundraisers for causes such as the Children's Hospital and Royal Canadian Legion.
SFU Economics is proud to have Mrs. Canada in our office. More information about Christine can be found here.
Below are some articles that feature faculty members of our department
- Herbert Grubel wrote an opinion piece on the economic effects of immigration for the Vancouver Sun.
- Stephen Easton was interviewed for his opinion on the legalization of marijuana in two US states.
- Micheal Lebowitz spoke about primitive accumulation versus contest reproduction.
- Nicolas Schmitt's research on temporary foreign workers was the focus of this opinion piece in the Financial Post.
For more stories about Economics alumni, faculty and student, please check out our Fall Newsletter.