Professor Vasilis Sarafidis
Professor - Finance

Summary

For further information, please see my personal webpage.

My educational background is in the areas of economics and econometrics. I received a BA in Economics with Computing and Quantitative Methods at the University of Sussex, and an MPhil in Economics and Econometrics at the University of Cambridge. I completed my PhD degree in Econometrics in 2006 at the University of Cambridge.

Before joining Brunel, I held academic positions at the BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo (2021-23), the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University in Melbourne (2012-2020), and the Department of Operations Management and Econometrics at the University of Sydney (2006-2011). 

My main area of research lies in the econometric analysis of panel data. My focus lies on model specification and testing, dynamic panels, common factor structures, models for spatial interactions and networks, multi-dimensional panels, and random coefficient models; with applications to banking and finance, the analysis of crime, and natural resource allocation, among others.

My research has been supported by competitive funding, including a major grant from the Australian Research Council (DP-170103135) for the project "Micro-panel data with non-linear error components". This project developed advanced econometric methods for panel data models with heterogeneous marginal effects and nonlinear error components. The methodologies were applied to analyze alcohol-fuelled violence and drug-related harm in Australia, with implications for crime prevention policies. The grant amounted to AUD 379,500 and contributed to advancements at the intersection of panel data econometrics and policy evaluation.

Currently, I am Associate Editor for Empirical Economics (2019-present). I have served as Guest-Editor for the Journal of Econometrics and for Empirical Economics. Since 2016 I am a member of the Scientific Committee for the International Panel Data Conference series. From 2021 20 2023, I was Associate Dean for PhD Research at BI Norwegian Business School. During the period 2017-2019, I held an executive position as Director of Education at the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University.

Before studying for my PhD, I worked as an economist for a private consultancy in the City of London. During that time I led projects involving econometric analysis and modelling for the electricity, water and telecommunications sectors. As a consultant I advised, among others, the Office for Water Services (U.K.), the National Telecom Agency in Denmark, the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority and the Electricity Association (U.K.)

During my academic career, I have also acted as an advisor to the Productivity Commission (Australia), the Essential Services Commission in Victoria, the Commonwealth Environmental Office, the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, the Bureau of Airline Representatives of Australia, the NSW Corrective Services, the South East Water Corporation, and the Sydney Water Corporation.

A highlight of my career has been the organisation of several major international conferences , including the 2015 Annual Conference of the International Association for Applied Econometrics, the 2017 International Panel Data Conference, and the 2019 International Symposium on Forecasting. More recently, I organised the 2021 International Panel Data Conference (held online) and the 2023 Annual Conference of the International Association for Applied Econometrics, hosted in Oslo by BI Norwegian Business School. In summer 2025, I am organising the conference on "Social and Sustainable Finance: Bridging Methods, Policy and Practice", hosted by Brunel University London on June 23-24.  

Qualifications

PhD Econometrics, University of Cambridge, 2006

MPhil Economics and Econometrics, University of Cambridge, 2001

BA Economics with Computing and Quantitative Methods, University of Sussex, 2000