Retirement of Professor David E. A. Giles
Professor David E.A. Giles
Department of Economics, University of Victoria 1994-2017
David Giles joined the Department of Economics as a professor in January 1994. David obtained his PhD from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, writing his dissertation in Bayesian econometrics, an area that he continued to research in for his entire career. Prior to joining UVic, David was a professor of econometrics at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia (1978-1986), including Chairing the Department of Econometrics for several years. He was the youngest person appointed to a full Professorship in any discipline in the State of Victoria at the time. For family reasons, he returned back to the University of Canterbury, Christchurch in 1986, joining the Department of Economics. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Waikato and a Distinguished Fellow of the New Zealand Association of Economists.
David has had a long distinguished career in theoretical and applied econometrics and statistics, with much of his research bridging important gaps between econometrics and statistics. He has published over 145 articles and book chapters and authored or edited six books, including an influential text Seemingly Unrelated Regression Models: Estimation and Inference with Viren Srivastava, a world renowned Indian statistician. In addition, he has served on many econometrics and statistical journal editorial boards, including serving as the founding North American editor for the Journal of International Trade and Economic Development for over twenty years.
Aside from his research efforts, David has been a superb teacher of econometrics courses at all levels; his students applaud his style, his efforts on their behalf, his organizational skills, and the ability he has to explain concepts that many find difficult to grasp. Not surprisingly, he was awarded the Faculty of Social Science award for teaching excellence in 2004. Students will miss his regular updates to his Econometrics Blog, a blog that has received numerous accolades. David has made many other contributions to the department over the last twenty-four years, most significantly supervising over 65 students, MA and PhD, many of whom he remains in regular contact with.
David is set to enjoy his retirement in rural Ontario among family and friends where he’ll have more time to enjoy some of his hobbies like fishing, playing his drum kit, and shovelling snow.
