SMU SOE leaps 19 places to be ranked 65th in the world
Singapore, 30 May 2012 (Wed) – The Singapore Management University (SMU) School of Economics (SOE) has emerged as Asia's second top Economics School in a prestigious worldwide ranking, placing SMU together with the other top Economics Schools around the world.
According to the 2012 Tilburg University Top 100 Worldwide Economics Schools Research Ranking announced recently, based on research contributions in the leading international journals in the preceding five-year period, SMU SOE has been ranked 65th in the world and second in the whole of Asia. This represents a leap of 19 places from its 84 th position in 2011.
Going by a year-on-year ranking comparison, SMU SOE has also advanced from its 57 th position for publications in 2010 to 47 th position in 2011.
Commenting on SMU SOE's outstanding achievements, SMU Provost, Professor Rajendra K. Srivastava said, “We aim to be recognised as one of the world's leading Economics Schools and one objective measure of success is research rankings. The Tilburg ranking of Economics Schools is based on research publications in the top tier of international journals over the preceding five-year period, so the outcome is a meaningful measure of high-quality research productivity. The School's performance in this ranking contributes to SMU's international reputation as a first-rate research institution which twins with its reputation as an innovative leader in undergraduate education.”
The ranking is created by Tilburg University, the Netherlands. The database covers publications in 36 leading economics journals.
Professor Bryce Hool, Dean of SMU School of Economics said, “The latest ranking results are significant. Naturally we're very pleased to be continuing our strong upward trajectory in this ranking. It validates our position as a leading economics research centre in Asia and among the top tier internationally. For a university just over a decade old, this is a remarkable achievement for SMU. The ranking is based on academic research which is also frequently the underpinning for commercial research and policy formation, so this international recognition reinforces our credentials in these areas.”
In terms of economics research, one of SMU's strong footholds is in Econometrics which is a field of research that is fundamental to analysis of data. SMU ranks in the top 10 internationally for Econometrics, which further strengthens SMU's international profile. In addition to Econometrics, there are several other areas of research which have contributed strongly to the ranking; for example, the international trade group is consistently publishing first-rate research in top journals.
SMU's research in Financial Econometrics has produced an early detection system for asset price bubbles and created two indices for Singapore, namely, the inflation expectations index and the corporate governance index. Asset bubbles and inflation are immensely important issues and SMU research will be valuable to Central Banks around the world in their policy-setting.
Professor Srivastava said, “The School of Economics has already established itself as one of the leading economic research centres in Asia. Indeed, in the field of financial econometrics, it ranks among the best in the world. We will build on the existing strengths to expand other areas of research excellence, again with an emphasis on Singapore's economic interests.”
When commenting on his plans for the School, Professor Hool who took helm at SOE in January this year said, “My goal is for SMU Economics to be firmly established as the best in Asia and among the world's elite. Already the School has built an impressive reputation for its research and undergraduate education, but it is essential to be engaged continually in innovation and enhancement. I want to extend the School's research strength across a broader range of fields and further develop postgraduate programmes which build on this platform. My aim is to create an environment that is intellectually stimulating for faculty members and students, where our research and teaching make an impact on Singapore and contribute to economic knowledge.”
He added, “SOE will undoubtedly continue to be identified with research excellence. We aim for a balance of cutting-edge research, which is essential to our international reputation, and ‘translational' research, particularly in areas that connect to challenges confronting Singapore. Research also informs our teaching and so contributes to the development of Singapore's human capital. Another dimension of the portfolio is policy-oriented analysis conducted for government ministries, for national and international organisations, and also as commentary for the public via the press.”
Beside key areas such as financial economics and international trade which will continue to be an important focus, SMU SOE would also be developing research in other areas, such as ageing, which are of great importance to Singapore and much of the rest of the world. Issues related to ageing have important economic dimensions such as health, demographics, retirement financing, urban planning, transportation and housing. In addition, these issues are interdisciplinary in nature, which ties in well with SMU's approach to teaching and research.
About SMU School of Economics
On 1 July 2002, the School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS) was established to launch the Bachelor of Science undergraduate degree programme majoring in Economics, and subsequently the Bachelor of Social Science undergraduate degree programme majoring in Psychology, Sociology, or Political Science. In April 2007, the School of Economics and the School of Social Sciences were established as separate schools to focus on the development of the undergraduate and graduate curricula and programmes, as well as faculty research.
The mission of the School of Economics is to accelerate the growth of SMU by creating a world-class center of research and teaching in economics. Economic research form a key factor in the development of Singapore Management University as a foremost academic institution in "generating cutting-edge research with global impact and producing broad-based, creative and entrepreneurial leaders for the knowledge-based economy." Economic theory and analysis underlie many of the major business disciplines. For example, Introductory Economics is a Foundation course in the curriculum of both the Business and Accountancy Schools at SMU. International Economics is a compulsory course for BBM students; and Economic Theory and Econometrics are building blocks for the study of Finance. Many sub-disciplines in Economics provide the foundations for business and management area studies like consumer behaviour, decision sciences, marketing and organisational behaviour.
Research at SMU School of Economics
Faculty members in the School of Economics are active in research, and have published in journals such as Econometrica, American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Economic Theory, Econometric Theory, Review of Economic Studies, International Economic Review, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of International Economics, Social Choice and Welfare, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Journal of the American Statistical Association, and Biometrics.
The School has implemented a Research Collaboration Programme to inculcate a vibrant research environment and to promote global collaboration with research scholars of leading universities around the world. Through this programme, researchers are invited and supported by the School for short-term visits of about one to four weeks for joint research with the School's faculty.
From 2004 to 2007, the school organised annually the Singapore Econometrics Study Group Meetings that brought together active researchers to present their work over a couple of days. The Singapore Econometrics Study Group evolved into the Centre for Financial Econometrics, one of four centres under the Sim Kee Boon Institute of Financial Economics (SKBI) when the Institute was established in 2008.
Through the Distinguished Lecture Series, eminent scholars are invited to deliver lectures to the academic faculty and general public. Nobel Laureate Lawrence Klein from the University of Pennsylvania, Ronald McKinnon from Stanford University, Peter Phillips from Yale University, Nobel Laureate Edmund S Phelps from Columbia University and Nobel Laureate Robert Engle from New York University are among the speakers invited to deliver lectures under the Series.
The School has a Working Paper Series that publishes the preliminary research findings of the faculty. Many of these papers are subsequently published in scholarly journals.
To promote the dissemination of research findings, the School also holds a regular seminar series in economics and statistics, featuring presentations by in-house faculty and regional and international speakers.