EconSearch Staff

Dr Julian Morison

Managing Director; Agricultural and Natural Resource Economist

BAgEc, MEc, MInfEng, PhD

Julian has over 25 years experience in applied economic analysis, particularly related to primary industries, natural resource issues and regional economic development. Julian has undertaken many projects investigating socio-economic, institutional, policy and business dimensions of natural resource management issues. He has also been involved in the development and application of market based instruments for natural resource management.

Julian has experience and expertise in the development of regional, state and national input-output models and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models and their application in the analysis of a variety of impact situations. He has experience in the analysis of regional development issues, particularly measuring the employment and value adding impacts of industry growth and decline. He has conducted numerous economic impact analysis consultancies for various firms and government organisations, several of which have involved workshops and seminars on input-output methods, cost benefit analysis and other analytical tools.

Matthew Ferris 

Senior Consultant; Agricultural and Natural Resource Economist

BAgEc (Hons)

Matthew is an Agricultural and Resource Economist at EconSearch and has been with the firm since 2000. Prior to joining the firm he gained considerable on-farm experience, particularly in beef breeding and viticulture enterprises and has also worked for both ABARE and the Productivity Commission.

Whilst working at EconSearch Matthew has specialised in the construction and application of input-output models and in communicating the results of economic impact analyses. He has also undertaken numerous cost benefit analyses for a wide range of clients in both the public and private sectors. Analyses have been undertaken for a diverse range of industries including agriculture, fisheries, forestry, water-related infrastructure, transport infrastructure, pests and weeds and research and development.

Elizabeth Clark

Consultant; Resource Economist

BComm (Ec), GradDipEc

Elizabeth has a strong interest in rural and regional economic development, having grown up on a vineyard in rural South Australia. Since joining EconSearch in 2005, Elizabeth has contributed to the preparation of economic indicators for all the commercial fisheries of South Australia (including extensive face-to-face survey work across coastal areas of regional South Australia) and the development of regional economic indicators scorecards for the Southern Flinders Ranges Development Board and the Murraylands Regional Development Board. Elizabeth recently contributed to a major study to define the overall structure, size and value of the ornamental fish industry in Australia including extensive face-to-face consultation with members of the industry across Australia.

Lisa Rippin

Research Assistant; Resource Economist

BEc, BFin

Lisa is in the process of completing a graduate diploma in economics through the University of New England. Since joining EconSearch in 2007, Lisa has contributed to the preparation of economic indicators for all the commercial fisheries of South Australia (including face-to-face survey work), a report on the ecologically sustainable development for the net sector of the Marine Scalefish fishery, economic analyses of levies for the Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin and South East Natural Resource Management Boards and economic impact studies for the Ports Corporation of Queensland and Fremantle Ports.

Lisa recently completed a study that involved benchmarking production costs for growers in the South Australian chicken meat industry. This involved undertaking around 20 face-to-face interviews with growers, collating and analysing their cost data and preparing benchmarking data on a per farm, per shed and per square metre basis. Lisa also developed a user friendly benchmarking spreadsheet that growers can use to compare their own operations against industry benchmarks. Growers can now access this tool online. 

Jennifer Morison

Office Administrator

BA  

Jennifer is responsible for office management and administration. She prepares annual operating reports and documentation for the company, prepares cash-flow projections and oversees the company business loan accounts. She is responsible for preparation of invoices and payment of creditors, wages, superannuation and workcover, including monthly remittances of PAYG tax to the ATO, and maintains employee records re tax, superannuation, long service leave and sick leave.

Jennifer also maintains the EconSearch research library collection (both hard copy and electronic documents), as well as the project archives and records, which include client details, stored files, report titles and abstracts. She also oversees EconSearch's operating policies and procedures and maintains the company's various public liability, professional indemnity and general business insurance policies.