Ronald Kumar

Ronald Kumar

Senior Lecturer, Economics
See full profile

Details

Open to

  • Masters Research or PhD student supervision

About

Ronald joined RMIT RMIT Vietnam as a senior lecturer (Economics). Ronald worked at USP for more than 10 years, in various roles inlcuding senior lecturer, lecturer & advisor for Banking and Finance Program. Ronald started his academic career in 2011 as a teaching assistant in the School of Economics at USP where he taught courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, economic statistics and development economics. Prior to this, he worked as economist for the Reserve Bank of Fiji, and as project analyst for ANZ Pacific Operations. Before joining RMIT Vietnam, he was working as an associate professor in the School of Accounting, Finance and Economics at USP from January 2019 to May 2022.

 

Teaching

Ronald is teaching undergrate courses in economics (macro- and micro-economics). Previously, he taught and coordinated courses banking and finance (financial mathematics for first-year undergraduate, international finance, investment analysis, and banking management for final year undergraduate courses, and corporate finance for at the graduate level, in the program of professional accounting). 

 

Research

Ronald's research interest is in the field of economic growth, particularly examining country-relevant sources and development processes supporting economic growth. Within growth and development, he has focused on energy, tourism, technology and defence. His research in both theoretical and empirical studies in these areas have appeared in journals like Tourism Management, Tourism Economics, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Energy Policy, Tourism Management Perspectives, Telecommunications Policy, Social Indicators Research, Quality and Quantity, Journal of Economics, and others. 

 

Ronald's research also focuses on financial economics, focusing on cross-broder payments (remittances), stock/investment analysis, digital assets, banking sector analysis, and pension economics. He has co-authored research papers which have appeared in journals like: Applied Economics, International Migration, Journal of Economic Studies, Economic Systems, Physica A, Accounting Research Journal, Journal of Pension Finance and Economics, Journal of Risk and Financial Management, Risks, Economies, Sustainability, Metroeconomica, Asia Pacific Economy, among others.

 

As of January, 2026, based on Scopus, and GoogleScholar, Ronald's H-index is 24 and 35, respectively. For more information on research activities, please refer to Ronald's ResearchGate profile. 

 


Professional interests/membership:

  • Member of Post Keynesian Economic Society (since 2024)
  • Member of Australian Economic Society (since 2024)
  • Guest Editor, Special issue on Financial Development and Economic Growth, Journal of Risk and Financial Management (MDPI, Switzerland) (2020-2022)
  • Editorial Board member: Green Finance Journal (AIMS Press) (2019-current)
  • Guest Editor: Journal of Risk  and Financial  Management (2019-current),  and Sustainbility (2019-2020)
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, Fiji (2018-2020)
  • Regular member, CFA Institute (2021-2025)

UN sustainable development goals

  • 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
  • 10 Reduced Inequalities

Academic positions

  • Senior Lecturer
  • RMIT Vietnam
  • The Business School
  • Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • Jun 2022 – Present
  • Associate Professor
  • University of the South Pacific
  • School of Accounting, Finance and Economics
  • Suva, Fiji
  • Jan 2019 – May 2022
  • Associate Dean – Research & Postgraduate Affairs
  • University of the South Pacific
  • Faculty of Business & Economics
  • Suva, Fiji
  • Aug 2018 – Dec 2019
  • Acting Head
  • University of the South Pacific
  • School of Accounting and Finance
  • Suva, Fiji
  • Jul 2018 – Aug 2018
  • Lecturer
  • University of the South Pacific
  • School of Accounting and Finance
  • Suva, Fiji
  • Jul 2016 – Aug 2016
  • Senior Lecturer & Advisor for Banking and Finance Program
  • University of the South Pacific
  • School of Accounting & Finance
  • Suva, Fiji
  • Oct 2016 – Dec 2018
  • Assistant Lecturer
  • University of the South Pacific
  • School of Accounting & Finance
  • Suva, Fiji
  • Aug 2013 – Jul 2016
  • Teaching Assistant
  • University of the South Pacific
  • School of Economics
  • Suva, Fiji
  • Jul 2011 – Jul 2013
  • Part-Time Tutor/ Lecturer (Math)
  • University of the South Pacific
  • School of Foundation Studies
  • Suva, Fiji
  • Feb 2005 – Apr 2005

Non-academic positions

  • Economic Planning Officer
  • Ministry of National Planning, Government of Fiji
  • Fiji
  • Apr 2011 – Jun 2011
  • Economist- Policy & Research
  • Reserve Bank of Fiji, Policy & Research Department
  • Fiji
  • Feb 2005 – Apr 2005
  • Project/Business Analyst
  • ANZ Operations, Project and Governance
  • Fiji
  • Dec 2005 – Mar 2007

Supervisor projects

  • A Multi-Level Approach To Explore The Barriers And Enablers For Sustainability Reporting Practices In Vietnam
  • 11 Feb 2025

Teaching interests

  • Economics
    • Business in the Globalised Economy/International Trade
    • Diverse Perspectives in the World Economy
    • Managerial and Business Economics (Intermediate Microeconomics)
    • Macroeconomics I

 

  • Finance (Previous institution)
    • Mathematics of Finance (Year I)
    • Investment Analysis
    • International Finance
    • Corporate Finance
    • Banking Management

Research interests

  • Sources of economic growth and development
  • Small island economies and developing states
  • Financial flows, financial institutions, stock market, and sector and regional analyses
  • Migration, remittances, tourism, energy, technology and sustainable development
  • Applications of quantitative and qualitative methods in economics and financial analysis

Initiatives and links