CPM research fellow awarded top prize for his doctoral thesis on economics research in China

Dr Zhifu Mi, Research Fellow at The Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management, has received the National Economics Foundation award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis on Economics Research in China.

The award - the leading prize recognising excellence in doctoral research in Chinese economics - is led by the National Economics Foundation (NEF). The NEF was jointly initiated by eminent economists, entrepreneurs and prominent citizens in China, and provides an international academic platform to support the academic work of economics researchers of Chinese origin, and encourage the contribution of Chinese economists to international economic science.

The purpose of the award is to promote early career researchers in economics in China, and to encourage economic science theoretical innovation. Ten papers are selected each year from mainland Chinese economics and research institutions, and institutions from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Dr Mi’s winning doctoral thesis - titled Climate Change Integrated Assessment Models and Their Applications - considers the economics of climate change, a relatively new field of economic theory. Applying optimisation models, game theory, and input-output analysis, the thesis developed climate change integrated assessment modelling (IAM) at global, national and local levels to simulate the relationships between the economy, energy, and climate change. Dr Mi’s thesis focuses on climate change mitigation and low-carbon economy for China - the largest producer of carbon emissions in the world.

Dr D’Maris Coffman, Head of the School of Construction and Project Management, says:

“Dr Zhifu Mi is perhaps the most promising young climate change economist of his generation. We are very glad that he has chosen to join us at the Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management, where he can pursue his burgeoning interest in the built environment disciplines. All of us at CPM are enormously proud that he has been recognised in this way by the National Economics Foundation of China, and look forward to watching him go from strength to strength.”

Dr Zhifu Mi is a Research Fellow at the School of Construction and Project Management, with research interests in the area of climate change economics and energy policy. He has published over 20 papers in peer-reviewed journals, such as Nature Communications, and was invited to write a review article on IAMs for climate change for Oxford Bibliographies. He serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Cleaner Production and as guest editor of the Applied Energy journal.