Olena Stavrunova

Olena Stavrunova is an Associate Professor in the Economics Discipline Group at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Business School. She joined UTS in 2007 after completing her Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Iowa. Her research focuses on Bayesian Econometrics, Health Economics, Labour Economics, and Applied Econometrics, with a particular emphasis on healthcare policy, private health insurance demand, and the impact of public health systems on patient behavior. She has conducted extensive studies on topics such as hospital waiting times, disaster economic impacts, and subjective wellbeing dynamics.

Stavrunova has secured significant research funding, including grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the NSW Department of Industry. Notable projects include analyzing the effects of public hospital waiting times on private healthcare utilization and investigating the role of government policies in shaping health insurance demand. She has also contributed to policy-relevant research on post-retirement financial behavior and tax incentives for health insurance.

In addition to her research, Stavrunova actively participates in academic service, serving as a peer reviewer for journals like the Journal of Econometrics, Health Economics, and the Economic Record. Her work bridges theoretical econometric methods with applied policy analysis, addressing real-world challenges in healthcare systems and disaster economics.