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UWA Business School
David Halperin only graduated in September, but already he has secured a graduate job with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in Sydney.

For the Economics honours student, who has completed a combined Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics with six different majors, it's a dream job. ‘The RBA is the premier economic institution in Australia and it sets me up very well for future career development,' says David. ‘The on-the-job education it provides over two years is invaluable.'

Working at the RBA won't be an entirely new experience for David, who has already completed a seven-week cadetship in the RBA's Payments Policy department. The department is responsible for regulating payment systems such as ATMs, credit cards and debit cards. Working in the department reinforced David's belief in the importance of economics to everyday life. The RBA's work in Payments Policy, explains David, includes ‘making sure that the systems to process payments operate efficiently. If there's no way to pay each other, there is no trade and no economy.'

The experience also gave David an opportunity to gain important insights into multiple economic perspectives. ‘As a part of the cadetship, we had presentations from different departments, and as we were just coming out of the worst of the GFC [global financial crisis] each department presented on that and how their departments interacted with it,' explains David. ‘All had different ideas and perspectives on the GFC.'

It was an undeniably rich learning experience for a student with such enthusiasm for economics. ‘It's because it [economics] investigates how the world works, from the way people think to the way businesses interact to government and everything in between. Essentially, it is a way of thinking and because it's a way of thinking you can apply the economic method to different scenarios,' says David.

That is exactly what he has done in his honours thesis. The thesis, entitled ‘A New Approach to Forecasting Metals Prices,' examines a new method of forecasting turning points in the prices of six non-ferrous metals. Rather than using standard econometrics, David used Bayesian econometric methods.

The method takes a different approach to probability, going beyond the frequency of previous outcomes to take into account beliefs, knowledge, and other organisational and environmental variables which could influence the likelihood of achieving a certain outcome - in this case, the turning point of metals returns. David's method proved to have extremely positive results. Over the 2003-2009 period, it produced correct turning points forecasts 80 per cent of the time, in comparison to 71 per cent for the best naïve model.

David attributes part of his success to the BHP Billiton Honours scholarship that he received. While the money meant that he could work fewer hours in part-time employment, non-financial benefits included opening up access to quality supervisors such as Professor Ken Clements, the BHP Billiton Research Fellow and head of the Economics discipline.

‘Having Professor Clements as a supervisor was good,' says David. ‘He pushed me quite hard; we had weekly meetings, which is more than usual. He got me thinking deeply about my topic. It's something I would not have thought possible.'

Writing a thesis still proved to be hard work, with David changing his topic after four weeks due the lack of publicly available data on his chosen area.  Although, overall, he says, ‘The hardest bit was writing just 15,000 words on new research. I could have written 20,000 or 25,000 words.'

In addition to finishing honours, David has also worked at his family business and completed an internship at the Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) in Canberra. ‘My family business is in import-distribution. I have performed almost all roles - from labouring to managing it while my parents were overseas and everything in between,' says David. His undergraduate study, he says, has been invaluable in helping him manage the business. ‘I've got a better understanding of exchange rates, interest rates, and things like making international purchases. It's about the economics of the industry, and I'm constantly thinking about how to improve the business.'

Meanwhile, the three-month BITRE internship allowed David to compare statistics over the same, rather than different, time periods. ‘For example, the RBA and ABS might look at economic measures over time, but the BITRE was looking at how these same measures differ across regions in Australia, such as Perth and Broome, at the same time,' explains David.

So what can we expect from David in the future? He has already taken a well-earned holiday. ‘The day after the final exam I left for a five-week holiday to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, as well as visiting Peru and the Inca trail,' he recounts. Upon his return, David worked as a research assistant for Professor Clements and before leaving for the Reserve Bank. He is leaving open the possibility of completing a PhD, but is looking forward to the opportunities at the RBA.

His advice for others wishing to follow in his footsteps is simple. ‘I would recommend UWA to all Western Australian students,' he says. ‘And for those already at UWA, if they are considering honours I would strongly consider the BHP Billiton scholarship - not just because of money, but also because of the importance of the resources industry to WA and Australia. Any research into the industry is valuable to Australia and BHPB as well.'

The University of Western Australia Business School has an ongoing relationship with BHP Billiton. In January 2008, the parties signed a partnership that will be worth $5 million over ten years. This includes funding for scholarships such as David's, prizes, and a BHP Billiton Professor in the Business of Resources (yet to be appointed).

Media references

Media Reference

Heather Merritt
Director, External Relations
UWA Business School
T: +618 6488 8171
E: [email protected]

Verity Chia
Communications Officer
UWA Business School
E: [email protected]