Professor Stephen Knowles, Our people, Department of Economics, University of Otago, New Zealand

Stephen Knowles BCom(Hons) PhD (Otago)

Tel: 64 3 479 8350
Email: stephen.knowles@otago.ac.nz
Room 619, 6th Floor, Otago Business School

Stephen has two main research interests: experimental economics and the empirical modelling of economic growth and development. His recent work using experimental economics has focused on the determinants of donations to international development charities and measuring trust.

His work on economic growth and development includes analysing the effects of gender inequalities in education and health on economic growth, the relationship between social capital and economic performance, the effects of government intervention on economic performance and the relationship between income inequality and economic growth. His teaching interests include the economics of developing countries and introductory microeconomics.

Selected publications

Take a look at Stephen’s selected publications below:

Knowles, S. and Servatka, M. “Transaction costs, the opportunity cost of time and procrastination in charitable giving”, Journal of Public Economics, 125: 54-63 (2015).

Fielding, D. and Knowles, S. “Can you spare some change for charity? Experimental evidence on verbal cues and loose change effects in a Dictator Game”, Experimental Economics, 18: 718-730 (2015).

“Developing countries in need: Which characteristics appeal most to people when donating money?” (with P. Hansen, N. Kergozou and P. Thorsnes) , Journal of Development Studies 50, 1494-1509, 2014.

"Are survey measures of trust correlated with experimental trust? Evidence from Cameroon" (with A Etang and D Fielding) Journal of Development Studies, 48, 1813-1827, 2012.

"Giving to Africa and Perceptions of Poverty" (with A Etang and D Fielding) Journal of Economic Psychology, 33, 2012, 819-832.

"Does trust extend beyond the village? Experimental trust and social distance in Cameroon" (with A Etang and D Fielding) Experimental Economics 14 (1), 2011, 15-35.

"Dangerous interactions: Problems in interpreting tests of conditional aid effectiveness" (with D Fielding) The World Economy 34(6), 2011, 972-983.

"Which institutions are good for your health? The deep determinants of comparative cross-country health status", (with P.D. Owen), Journal of Development Studies 46(4). 2010. 701-723.

"Inequality and economic growth: the empirical relationship reconsidered in the light of comparable data", Journal of Development Studies, 41, 2005, 135-159.

"Total factor productivity, per capita income and social divergence", (with R.Q. Grafton and P.D. Owen), Economic Record, 80, 2004, 302-313.

"Government intervention and economic performance in East Asia", (with Arlene Garces-Ozanne), Economic Development and Cultural Change, 51, 2003, 451-477.

"Are educational gender gaps a brake on economic development? some cross-country empirical evidence", (with P Lorgelly and P D Owen), Oxford Economic Papers, 54, 2002, 118-149.

"Are the Penn World Tables data on government consumption and investment being misused?", Economics Letters, 71, 2001, 293-298.

"Education and health in an effective-labour empirical growth model", (with P D Owen), Economic Record, 73, 1997, 314-328.

"Health capital and cross-country variation in income per capita in the Mankiw-Romer-Weil model", (with P D Owen), Economics Letters, 48, 1995, 99-106.

Stephen's CV

Read Stephen Knowles' CV

Teaching responsibilities

Stephen’s teaching responsibilities include:

Preferred areas of research supervision

Stephen is especially interested in supervising research students in the following areas

Measuring economic development and well being
Lab and field experiments, particularly on trust, altruism and charitable giving

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Publications

Fielding, D., Knowles, S., & Peeters, R. (2022). In search of competitive givers. Southern Economic Journal, 88, 1517-1548. doi: 10.1002/soej.12558

Chan, N. W., Knowles, S., Peeters, R., & Wolk, L. (2022). Perception of generosity under matching and rebate subsidies. Judgment & Decision Making, 17(5), 1058-1071.

McGillivray, M., Feeny, S., Hansen, P., Knowles, S., & Ombler, F. (2022). What are valid weights for the Human Development Index? A discrete choice experiment for the United Kingdom. Social Indicators Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s11205-022-03039-9

Trinh, K. A., Berg, N., Garces-Ozanne, A., & Knowles, S. (2022). Why did they not borrow? Debt-averse farmers in rural Vietnam. Developing Economies. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/deve.12336

Knowles, S. (2022, June-July). Perception of generosity under matching and rebate subsidies. Verbal presentation at the 62nd Annual Conference of the New Zealand Association of Economists (NZAE), Wellington, New Zealand.

Fielding, D., & Knowles, S. (2021). The importance of social capital in New Zealand's COVID-19 response. In S. Ratuva, T. Ross, Y. Crichton-Hill, A. Basu, P. Vakaoti & R. Martin-Neuninger (Eds.), COVID-19 and social protection: A study in human resilience and social solidarity. (pp. 261-277). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-2948-8_14

Chapter in Book - Research

Jones, M., Knowles, S., & Owen, P. D. (2007). The deep determinants of health and education: Institutions versus geography. In W. R. Garside (Ed.), Institutions and market economies: The political economy of growth and development. (pp. 167-185). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Chapter in Book - Research

Knowles, S. (2007). Is social capital part of the institutions continuum and is it a deep determinant of development? In G. Mavrotas & A. Shorrocks (Eds.), Advancing development: Core themes in global economics. (pp. 197-223). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Chapter in Book - Research

Grafton, R. Q., Knowles, S., & Owen, P. D. (2002). Social divergence and productivity: Making a connection. In A. Sharpe, F. St-Hilaire & K. Banting (Eds.), The Review of Economic Performance and Social Progress 2002: Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity. (pp. 203-223). Montreal and Ottawa: The Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) and Centre for the Study of Living Standards.

Chapter in Book - Research

Garces, A., & Knowles, S. (2001). Government intervention and economic growth in East Asia. In R. Starrs (Ed.), Asian nationalism in an age of globalization. (pp. 49-64). Surrey, UK: Curzon Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Chan, N. W., Knowles, S., Peeters, R., & Wolk, L. (2022). Perception of generosity under matching and rebate subsidies. Judgment & Decision Making, 17(5), 1058-1071.

Journal - Research Article

Fielding, D., Knowles, S., & Peeters, R. (2022). In search of competitive givers. Southern Economic Journal, 88, 1517-1548. doi: 10.1002/soej.12558

Journal - Research Article

Genç, M., Knowles, S., & Sullivan, T. (2021). In search of effective altruists. Applied Economics, 53(7), 805-819. doi: 10.1080/00036846.2020.1814947

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S., & Stahlmann-Brown, P. (2021). Cash is not king in incentivizing online surveys. Applied Economics Letters, 28(2), 105-108. doi: 10.1080/13504851.2020.1734524

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S., Servátka, M., Sullivan, T., & Genç, M. (2021). Procrastination and the non‐monotonic effect of deadlines on task completion. Economic Inquiry. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/ecin.13042

Journal - Research Article

Fielding, D., Knowles, S., & Robertson, K. (2020). Materialists and altruists in a charitable donation experiment. Oxford Economic Papers, 72(1), 216-234. doi: 10.1093/oep/gpz027

Journal - Research Article

Grimson, D., Knowles, S., & Stahlmann-Brown, P. (2020). How close to home does charity begin? Applied Economics, 52(34), 3700-3708. doi: 10.1080/00036846.2020.1720906

Journal - Research Article

Feeny, S., Hansen, P., Knowles, S., McGillivray, M., & Ombler, F. (2019). Donor motives, public preferences and the allocation of UK foreign aid: A discrete choice experiment approach. Review of World Economics, 155, 511-537. doi: 10.1007/s10290-019-00351-4

Journal - Research Article

Clark, J., Garces-Ozanne, A., & Knowles, S. (2018). Emphasising the problem or the solution in charitable fundraising for international development. Journal of Development Studies, 54(6), 1082-1094. doi: 10.1080/00220388.2017.1308490

Journal - Research Article

Fielding, D., Knowles, S., & Robertson, K. (2018). Alcohol, generosity and empathy. Journal of Behavioral & Experimental Economics, 76, 28-39. doi: 10.1016/j.socec.2018.07.005

Journal - Research Article

Cunningham, H., Knowles, S., & Hansen, P. (2017). Bilateral foreign aid: How important is aid effectiveness to people for choosing countries to support? Applied Economics Letters, 24(5), 306-310. doi: 10.1080/13504851.2016.1184372

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S., & Sullivan, T. (2017). Does charity begin at home or overseas? Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 46(5), 944-962. doi: 10.1177/0899764017703710

Journal - Research Article

Etang, A., Fielding, D., & Knowles, S. (2016). Who votes expressively, and why? Experimental evidence. Bulletin of Economic Research, 68(2), 105-116. doi: 10.1111/boer.12033

Journal - Research Article

Fielding, D., & Knowles, S. (2015). Can you spare some change for charity? Experimental evidence on verbal cues and loose change effects in a Dictator Game. Experimental Economics, 18, 718-730. doi: 10.1007/s10683-014-9424-x

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S., & Servátka, M. (2015). Transaction costs, the opportunity cost of time and procrastination in charitable giving. Journal of Public Economics, 125, 54-63. doi: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2015.03.001

Journal - Research Article

Hansen, P., Kergozou, N., Knowles, S., & Thorsnes, P. (2014). Developing countries in need: Which characteristics appeal most to people when donating money? Journal of Development Studies, 50(11), 1494-1509. doi: 10.1080/00220388.2014.925542

Journal - Research Article

Etang, A., Fielding, D., & Knowles, S. (2012). Are survey measures of trust correlated with experimental trust? Evidence from Cameroon. Journal of Development Studies, 48(12), 1813-1827. doi: 10.1080/00220388.2011.649263

Journal - Research Article

Etang, A., Fielding, D., & Knowles, S. (2012). Giving to Africa and perceptions of poverty. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(4), 819-832. doi: 10.1016/j.joep.2012.03.003

Journal - Research Article

Dulal, H. B., Foa, R., & Knowles, S. (2011). Social capital and cross-country environmental performance. Journal of Environment & Development, 20(2), 121-144. doi: 10.1177/1070496511405153

Journal - Research Article

Etang, A., Fielding, D., & Knowles, S. (2011). Does trust extend beyond the village? Experimental trust and social distance in Cameroon. Experimental Economics, 14, 15-35. doi: 10.1007/s10683-010-9255-3

Journal - Research Article

Etang, A., Fielding, D., & Knowles, S. (2011). Trust and ROSCA membership in rural Cameroon. Journal of International Development, 23(4), 461-475. doi: 10.1002/jid.1686

Journal - Research Article

Fielding, D., & Knowles, S. (2011). Dangerous interactions: Problems in interpreting tests of conditional aid effectiveness. World Economy, 34(6), 972-983. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9701.2011.01363.x

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S., & Owen, P. D. (2010). Which institutions are good for your health? The deep determinants of comparative cross-country health status. Journal of Development Studies, 46(4), 701-723. doi: 10.1080/00220380903428399

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S. (2007). Social capital, egalitarianism and foreign aid allocations. Journal of International Development, 19, 229-314.

Journal - Research Article

Alexander, W. R. J., Bell, J. D., & Knowles, S. (2005). Quantifying compliance costs of small businesses in New Zealand. New Zealand Economic Papers, 39(1), 37-50. doi: 10.1080/00779950509558479

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S. (2005). Inequality and economic growth: The empirical relationship reconsidered in the light of comparable data. Journal of Development Studies, 41(1), 135-159.

Journal - Research Article

Grafton, R. Q., & Knowles, S. (2004). Social capital and national environmental performance: A cross-sectional analysis. Journal of Environment & Development, 13(4), 336-370.

Journal - Research Article

Grafton, R. Q., Knowles, S., & Owen, P. D. (2004). Total factor productivity, per capita income and social divergence. Economic Record, 80(250), 302-313.

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S., & Garces-Ozanne, A. (2003). Government intervention and economic performance in East Asia. Economic Development & Cultural Change, 51(2), 451-478.

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S., & McCombie, J. S. L. (2003). Erkin Bairam: 1958-2001 his contribution to economics. Ekonomia, 6(1), 1-18.

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S., Lorgelly, P. K., & Owen, P. D. (2002). Are educational gender gaps a brake on economic development? Some cross-country empirical evidence. Oxford Economic Papers, 54(1), 118-149.

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S. (2001). Are the Penn World Tables data on government consumption and investment being misused? Economics Letters, 71(2), 293-298.

Journal - Research Article

Lorgelly, P. K., Knowles, S., & Owen, P. D. (2001). Barro's fertility equations: the robustness of the role of female education and income. Applied Economics, 33(8), 1065-1075.

Journal - Research Article

Richardson, M. D., & Knowles, S. (1999). On the use of competition policy to enhance industrial policy. Review of Development Economics, 3(1), 58-65.

Journal - Research Article

Hansen, P., & Knowles, S. (1998). Human capital and returns to scale. Journal of Economic Studies, 25, 118-123.

Journal - Research Article

Humphries, H., & Knowles, S. (1998). Does agriculture contribute to economic growth? Some empirical evidence. Applied Economics, 30, 775-781.

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S. (1997). Which level of schooling has the greatest economic impact on output? Applied Economics Letters, 4(3), 177-180.

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S., & Owen, P. D. (1997). Education and health in an effective-labour empirical growth model. Economic Record, 73(223), 314-328.

Journal - Research Article

Knowles, S. (2004). Compliance costs: Perception versus reality. Competition & Regulation Times, (15), 10-11.

Journal - Research Other

Knowles, S. (2007). From the editor [Editorial note]. EcoNZ@Otago, 18(February), 1. Retrieved from http://www.business.otago.ac.nz/econ/econz

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Knowles, S. (2005). Will the G8 package help make poverty history. EcoNZ@Otago, 15, 5-6. Retrieved from http://www.business.otago.ac.nz/econ/econz

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Knowles, S., & Garces, A. (2000). Measuring government intervention and estimating its effect on output: With reference to the high performing Asian economies. CREDIT Working Paper No. 00/14, 1-25. Nottingham, UK: School of Economics, University of Nottingham.

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Knowles, S. (1999). Female education and economic development. EcoNZ@Otago, (2), 8-11.

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

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