Erkin Bairam
Encyclopedia
Erkin Bairam was a Cypriot-born
economist who spent most of his working life in the Department of Economics at the University of Otago
, New Zealand
, where he was Professor in Economics.
Born in Nicosia
, Cyprus
, Bairam first studied at the University of Essex
in Colchester, England, where he gained a BA (Hons) in Economics in 1980. He left Essex for the University of Hull
, where he was awarded an MA in Econometrics in 1982. He then began work on his PhD thesis entitled "Returns to Scale, Technical Progress and Industrial Growth in the USSR and Eastern Europe: An Empirical Study, 1961-75", with John McCombie as his supervisor. He was awarded his doctorate in 1986 and the following year was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Otago
. By 1991, after only four years and at the age of 33, he had risen to the rank of full professor, becoming one of the youngest full professors to be appointed in New Zealand.
Bairam died in Dunedin
on 21 May 2001 at the age of 43. At the time of his death, he had published over 60 articles and 4 books.
of economic growth.
But his interests went wider than this. He was a gifted applied econometrician and made contributions to econometric theory and also published in the areas of inflation and labour economics. Although he would have been the first to admit that he was not a natural sportsman, he also developed an interest in the economics of sport, especially cricket, and published some innovative papers in this area.
Bairam undertook some notable work in calculating the research rankings of economics departments (always a contentious issue), with an article being published in the prestigious Journal of Economic Literature
(Bairam, 1994a).
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
economist who spent most of his working life in the Department of Economics at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, where he was Professor in Economics.
Born in Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Bairam first studied at the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
in Colchester, England, where he gained a BA (Hons) in Economics in 1980. He left Essex for the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
, where he was awarded an MA in Econometrics in 1982. He then began work on his PhD thesis entitled "Returns to Scale, Technical Progress and Industrial Growth in the USSR and Eastern Europe: An Empirical Study, 1961-75", with John McCombie as his supervisor. He was awarded his doctorate in 1986 and the following year was appointed as a lecturer at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
. By 1991, after only four years and at the age of 33, he had risen to the rank of full professor, becoming one of the youngest full professors to be appointed in New Zealand.
Bairam died in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
on 21 May 2001 at the age of 43. At the time of his death, he had published over 60 articles and 4 books.
Work
Bairam had two main research interests: the theoretical specification and estimation of aggregate production functions, and the testing of Thirlwall's LawThirlwall's Law
Thirlwall's law states that if long run balance of payments equilibrium on current account is a requirement, and the real exchange rate stays relatively constant, then the long run growth of a country can be approximated by the ratio of the growth of exports to the income elasticity of demand for...
of economic growth.
But his interests went wider than this. He was a gifted applied econometrician and made contributions to econometric theory and also published in the areas of inflation and labour economics. Although he would have been the first to admit that he was not a natural sportsman, he also developed an interest in the economics of sport, especially cricket, and published some innovative papers in this area.
Bairam undertook some notable work in calculating the research rankings of economics departments (always a contentious issue), with an article being published in the prestigious Journal of Economic Literature
Journal of Economic Literature
The Journal of Economic Literature is a peer-reviewed academic journal on economy published by the American Economic Association. It was established in 1963 as the Journal of Economic Abstracts. As a review journal, it mainly features essays and reviews of recent economic theories...
(Bairam, 1994a).