Dr. Simon Chang is an economist at the UWA Business School whose research unpacks some of society's most pressing challenges through economics. He explores how demographic shifts, education policies, and environmental factors shape lives, careers, and health outcomes. From examining the long-term impacts of early-life DDT exposure to investigating air pollution's effect on helping behavior and the consequences of male-biased sex ratios on entrepreneurship, Simon's work addresses global challenges with real-world implications. His research has appeared in esteemed international journals, including the Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Health Economics, Journal of Population Economics, Environment International, and Economic Development and Cultural Change.

In addition to his research, Simon is a dedicated educator, recognized multiple times for excellence in teaching and learning, including his outstanding supervision of dissertations. Passionate about mentoring the next generation of economists, Simon combines rigorous scholarship with a deep commitment to fostering curiosity and empowering his students to tackle the pressing issues of tomorrow.

Simon earned his PhD in Economics from Michigan State University in the US and his master's and bachelor's degrees in Economics from the National Chengchi University in Taiwan. Before joining the UWA Business School, he was affiliated with the Central University of Finance and Economics in China. He currently holds external affiliations with world-renowned institutions, including as a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), a Fellow at the Global Labor Organization (GLO), and a Research Affiliate at the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute (TTPI) at the Australian National University. Click HERE to visit his personal website.

Simon welcomes PhD students interested in health economics, labor economics, demographic economics, and education economics.

National Service:

• ARC Detailed Assesor (2021-present)

Internal Service at UWA Business School:

• Hiring Committee for the Economics Department (2024 & 2025)
• Board of Undergraduate Studies (January 2017-December 2018)
• Research Committee (January 2018-December 2020)
• Seminar Organizer, Department of Economics (January 2021-December 2024)
• Deputy Head, Department of Economics (December 2024-present)

International/ External Service:

• Organizing Committee for Australia Gender Economics Workshop (2023)
• Reviewer for International Leading Research Grant for the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2022)
• External Promotion Reviewer for Monsh University (2023)
• External Promotion Reviewer for Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2022)
• Program Committee (health economics), Asian Meeting of the Econometric Society , Kyoto, Japan (2016)
• External reviewer for Swiss Cancer League , Switzerland (2015)
• External examiner of Research Higher Degree Thesis for University of Queensland, Australia (2016)
• Reviewer for the following academic journals: Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of Population Economics, Health Economics, Economics and Human Biology, China Economic Review, World Development, Review of Economics of the Household, Economic Record, International Migration, Migration Studies, Pacific Economic Review, International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics, BMC Health Service Research, BMC Public Health, Bulletin of Economic Research, Asian Population Studies, Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Economics and Business Letter, Australian Economic Papers

• UWA Business School Research Grant Awards, 2024 (CI: Simon Chang, Yanli Lin, Rigissa Megalokonomou and Tushar Bharati).
• Milne Visiting Professor Program, 2023
• Future Fund Research Grant, 2021 (PI: Tushar Bharati, Simon Chang, Rakesh Banerjee)
• UWA Business School Research Scheme, 2019 (PI: Simon Chang and Chris Parsons)
• Alcoa Visiting Scholar Grant, 2018
• BHP Billiton Distinguished Research Award, 2017 (PI: Ishita Chatterjee and Simon Chang)
• BHP Billiton Visiting Professor Award, 2017
• BHP Billiton Visiting Professor Award, 2016
• UWA Led WUN-Global Adjustments to China’s Growth Transition, 2016 (Robertson, P., Chang, S., Tyers, R., Wu, Y., Song, M., Bhorat, H., Lu, D., Yuan, J. and Ruan, J.)
• BHP Billiton Visiting Professor Award, 2015
• BHP Billiton Distinguished Research Award, 2015 (PI: Simon Chang)
• Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Study Grant, 2003-2005
• Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, 2007-2008
• Fellowship, Michigan State University, Spring 2008

China Center for Human Capital and Labor Market Research
Central University of Finance and Economics (Beijing, China)
Associate Professor, 2012-2015
Assistant Professor, 2009- 2012

1. “The Effect of Ambient Air Pollution on Helping Behavior: Field Experiment Evidence from China and India,” (with Ishita Chatterjee and Li Yu)
2. “Bombing and Body Mass Index: the Case of Vietnam,” (with Vu Vuong and Michael Palmer)
3. “Return Migration, the Birth of the Civil Rights Movement and Racial Segregation in Modern America,” (with Thomas Favory, Johannes Matzat and Chris Parsons)
4. “Land Reforms and Industrialization in Taiwan,” (with Qing Huang, Kamhon Kan and Xiaobo Zhang)
5. “Fighting Fire with Fire: Is Indigenous Knowledge of Cultural Burning Helping Us Combat Bushfires in Australia?” (with Tushar Bharati and Sofia Chaves)
6. “Unpacking the Returns to Higher Education: Human Capital, Signalling and Employer Learning in Taiwan,” (with Tushar Bharati, Qing Li and Kamhon Kan)
7. “Educational Migration in Australia,” (with Tushar Bharati and Cara Mezzatesta)

• Econ 5516 The Economics of Public Policy
• Econ 4503 Advanced Economic Analysis
• Econ 3205 Health Economics
• Econ 3395 Economic Policy
• Econ 2271 Introduction to Econometrics
• Econ 2245 Business Economics

Health Economics; Labor Economics; Demographic Economics; Education Economics