Melanie Morten is off to Yale

Media Release
Motu Economic and Public Policy Research

11 June 2007

Melanie Morten is off to Yale

Motu Research Analyst, Melanie Morten, is heading overseas in August to begin a PhD in Economics at Yale University, one of the USA's most prestigious Ivy League schools.

Melanie is excited at the opportunity this course will provide. "I'll be able to undertake my own empirical research on the determinants of economic development and living standards."

She will focus on Development Economics, the study of developing countries. "I am particularly interested in exploring questions such as the economic impact of HIV/AIDS on developing countries and the impact of economic growth on poverty."

Development Economics is becoming increasingly important and Yale, which according to Melanie specialises in this area, has offered her a full scholarship to examine these issues.

This scholarship will bring Melanie one-step closer to achieving her long-term career goal of being an academic economist.

Melanie completed a Bachelor of Arts at Otago University. This course saw her travel to Budapest, Hungary and study there for a year. She then transferred to the University of Auckland where she completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and a post-graduate diploma in Development Studies.

Since January 2006, Melanie has worked as a Research Analyst at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.

Motu is a non-profit research institute committed to producing high quality economic and public policy research. It is also committed to providing full training for young graduates like Melanie who aspire to be respected researchers in their own right.

Motu will supplement the funding Melanie will receive from Yale with its own Doctoral Scholarship, which it created to stimulate research within New Zealand.

Melanie feels that her time spent working as a researcher at Motu will aid her studies. "The quantitative and research skills I have gained while at Motu will be very helpful when I come to undertake my own thesis work."

ENDS

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