Colin Smithies

BCom (Otago) MBus (Otago)

Colin's reseach involves the equivalent of economic alchemy! He is investigating taking the rather leaden instrument of the ordinal rank and divining a relatively golden instrument, namely a cardinal rank.

This research can be applied as easily to business (asset allocation, staff recruitment, product development, demand analysis, etc) as it can to more qualitative issue such as the preservation of the environment. By knowing how much first place, in a list of alternatives, is better than second place, can give us an idea of relative worth i.e. if the second best job applicant is only half as good as the first place applicant but will cost us less than a half of the first place applicant’s salary, it would be better to employ him or her than the first place applicant. Another example would be a list of environmental assets that require funding to conserve them, if you know, for instance, that the kiwi is twice as valuable" as the Kokako then it would be appropriate for the kiwi conservancy to receive twice as much overall funding.

Contact Details

Email colin.smithies@otago.ac.nz

Publications

Answers about financial options, Issue 15 Econz@otago. 2005

Options made easy, Issue 14 Econz@otago.2005

The long and the short of futures contracts (as used by George Soros to break the Bank of England!), Issue 12 Econz@otago.2004

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