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UWA Business School alumnus Jean-Paul Carvalho (BEc, PhD, Corporate Finance) always dreamed of studying at the University of Oxford and, after being one of eight Australian recipients of the 2004 General Sir John Monash Award, his dream has become a reality.

Equivalent to Australia's Rhodes and Fulbright Scholarships, the General Sir John Monash Award recognised Jean-Paul's academic excellence, leadership potential, community service, and character, granting him the opportunity to continue his study abroad at the prestigious University of Oxford.

Jean-Paul credits his time with the UWA Business School as a significant turning point in his career.

His years of study at the Business School raised his consciousness on issues of ethics and sustainability.  Halfway through his honours year, Jean-Paul felt an overwhelming urge to help people living in poor countries.

"My honours year was a wonderful intellectual adventure and I was keen to supplement my formal education with real-world experience.  To get a better idea of the challenges faced by so many in the world, I wanted to spend some time in a developing country, in a small town or village, experiencing the living conditions there," he said.

Jean-Paul then spent three months living and working in a small town in Lampang province in Thailand. "During that time, I visited approximately fifteen remote villages," he said.  "It is a tough place; you do not have to dig very deep to uncover the mark of drugs, AIDS, violence and corruption. I felt that the standard theoretical frameworks in economics neglected a large part of the picture," he said.

It was whilst teaching English to 54 hill tribe children that he gained a clarity that would significantly influence the direction of his academic career.

Jean-Paul said his experience inspired him to take a broader approach to economics and to more deeply consider the welfare of others on a daily basis. He began to enquire into the nature of suffering, which he hoped would set him on the right path in his quest to achieve his ultimate goal of using his knowledge to change the social consequences of economic problems.

Now Jean-Paul passionately researches development and its relationship with economics. Under the guidance of renowned game theorist H. Peyton Young, he actively explores this link on the premise that economics should not be limited to mathematical science but draw more upon the broader social sciences, and that game theory can unify the social sciences by providing a universal language and method of reasoning.

"My economic history Professor at Oxford once said, ‘Engineering is easy. Social science is hard.' He was referring to development. I enjoy doing research and ultimately hope to contribute to a better understanding of development," he said.

On top of his ongoing research, Jean-Paul will take on a new role this year delivering the first lectures on the Economics of Religion to Oxford Masters students in Development Economics. The lectures will begin by exploring how religious belief and participation affects economic growth and fertility, and then review several theories, some of which are the product of his own research, concerning the reasons why religion continues to thrive in many parts of the world.

"I see my work on the economics of religion as a first step to understanding the cultural and institutional foundations of development," he said.

His present goal to significantly further his understanding of how institutions shape individual preferences and social norms is a product of his life experiences to date, two of which include his years of study at the UWA Business School and the time he spent overseas experiencing the living conditions of a developing country first hand.

Jean-Paul recently submitted his DPhil entitled Essays on Social Dynamics under the direction of H. Peyton Young, and will start his new role in November this year - marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter in his dream career.