Can you explain your research?
Most of my research involves identifying factors that cause short-run fluctuations of an economy, as well as investigating optimal design of monetary policy (the setting of interest rate and money supply by central bank).
What is the biggest challenge that you face in your field?
The biggest challenge involves how to capture important transmission channels (such as financial sector) of short-run fluctuations in the model.
What are your current students working on with you?
Currently, a PhD student is working on studying the effects of remittance in an economy which is dependent on oil imports, and yet the remittance itself may be dependent on the oil price. This is the situation faced by countries such as Pakistan.
My undergraduate students are working on topics such as the effects of Covid-19 on stock prices, China's One Belt One Road Initiative, Malaysia’s Housing Price, Female Labour Force Participation Rate etc for their final year dissertations.
How does the University of Nottingham Malaysia support your research?
The university provides research funding support for attending conferences as well as journal submissions.
How is your research different to established schools of thought?
My research focuses more on the needs of emerging economies, whereas established schools of though usually focuses more on developed economies.
What are some other real-world applications for your research?
The models that I develop in my research can be used to analyze causes of economic fluctuations in different economies. My research on monetary policy contribute to the discussion on how monetary policy should react to economic fluctuations.
What are the next steps in your research?
I aim to investigate the relations between different time horizons (short run, medium run, long run) and how policies should be designed keeping in mind the connections of the different time horizons.
What global impact will your research have? How will it change lives?
I had been involved in helping policy makers (central bank and government agencies) in Taiwan to develop models to capture short-run fluctuations of the Taiwanese economy. It helps policy makers to better understanding the causes of short-run fluctuations in their economies, and therefore, better able to respond with appropriate policies.
What inspired you to pursue this field of research?
Economic fluctuations and economy policies both have far-reaching impacts on everyone’s life, so I am motivated to contribute to research that increases our understanding on these two broad topics.
What has been the greatest moment of your career so far?
Involved in helping policy makers to develop their own models that are used in actual policy discussions.
Where do you hope to see your research in the future?
I hope my research will help contribute to discussions on appropriate policies for different economies.
Why is collaboration important for you?
Good collaborators not only complement our strengths, but in the process of discussions and collaborations, more new ideas can emerge and often can lead to more output.
What advice would you offer to someone who is starting their research career?
Always remember the motivation behind the research and keep working to achieve your goals.