My name is Olivia Quek and I work as a full-time data scientist/analyst for Miotsukushi Analytics, an analytics firm in Tokyo. I studied economics as an undergraduate at the National University in Singapore, after which I joined the University of Tokyo for my master's studies, focusing on International Trade. During my PhD studies at the same university, I worked on International and Development Economics under the supervision of Yasuyuki Sawada, the previous Chief Economist at the Asian Development Bank. In my dissertation, I focused on agricultural markets in the Philippines. The dissertation included a project in collaboration with Michal Fabinger on spatial and time-series aspects of trade in rice, intending to identify the nature of competition and price formation in these markets. This investigation resolved puzzles in the related economic literature and the resulting model was able to predict rather precisely the rice trade flows between different provinces, a task that the previous literature struggled with. After finishing my studies, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Waseda University, where I won a research grant from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science.

Drawing from my research background in Development Economics, I am passionate about applying my skills to solve or alleviate real-world problems. As a mother of 2 very young children, I also feel deeply about social issues related to pregnancy and young children.

I look forward to helping in whatever way I can and to working with others in the community!