Dr John Hatch

Biography/ Background

Dr Hatch has twice been Chairman of the Department. His 'outside' activities reflect his long-term interest in resource and environmental matters. He was convenor of the University's Animal Ethics Committee, the committee which oversees the University's use of animals in teaching and research for twelve years. He was also for three years President of the South Australian Ornithological Association and this involved him in a variety of land use and management issues. These interests continue to augment his more formal interest and connection with the life sciences and life scientists.

Teaching Interests

Dr Hatch's teaching duties have spanned most of the subjects in microeconomics, and related areas. He regularly teaches Environmental Subjects and several subjects which introduce non-economists to economics. He has also taught short spells in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Hong-Kong.

Research Interests

Dr Hatch's research interests have been in the field of micro-economics and environmental issues. He co-edited a socio-economic study of the Adelaide Grand Prix and has consulted extensively on issues in waste management and resource use. His other main research area is in the theory of economic efficiency, in particular x-efficiency theory. This theory, which some saw as a potential new paradigm in economics, was developed by a Harvard economist, the late Harvey Leibenstein, and suggests that firms rarely achieve textbook efficiency, and that motivation is a critical variable.

Publications

R. Damania and J. Hatch, "Protecting Eden: markets or government?", Ecological Economics, Volume 53, Issue 3, May 2005, pp 339-351

J. Hatch, "X-Efficiency and Contestability Theory: A Clash of Paradigms" in Studies in Economic Rationality, X-Efficiency -Examined and Extolled, (eds), K. Weiermair and M. Perlman. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1990, pp 27-41.

J. Hatch, "The Cost Minimising Number of Firms and the Discipline of Competition", Economics Letters, No. 4, 1979, pp 379-384

Files

• CV_2006 - Promotion-CV-April03-2.DOC [55.0K] (application/msword)

Entry last updated: Thursday, 26 Jul 2012