Rate My Professor Parmendra Sharma

Dr. Parmendra Sharma is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, Griffith Business School, Griffith University. He earned his PhD in Economics from Griffith University in 2009, with a thesis examining determinants of bank net interest margins in a small island developing economy, Fiji. Sharma teaches banking and finance courses and has built a distinguished career focused on financial economics in the Pacific region. He is the Founding Program Director and Convenor of the Pacific Islands Centre for Development Policy and Research (PICDPR) at the Griffith Asia Institute, formerly the South Pacific Centre for Central Banking established in 2016 following an inaugural Deputy Governors’ Central Banking Symposium. In this role, he leads efforts to enhance research capacity, policy formulation, and economic management through collaborations with Pacific institutions.

Sharma's research interests center on banking and capital markets, financial sector development in small open Pacific Island countries, monetary policy frameworks, exchange rate volatility, bank efficiency, profitability determinants, credit constraints, and private sector growth. Key publications include 'Foreign banks, profits, market power and efficiency: Evidence from Fiji' (2013), 'Does finance matter for growth in the small, open Pacific Island Countries?' with Neelesh Gounder, 'Determinants of bank credit in small open economies: The case of Fiji' (2012), 'Technical Efficiency and Total Factor Productivity of Banks in Fiji' (2015), and 'Finance and socio-economic development in Fiji' (2018). He has co-authored joint working papers with partners from Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and others, as well as policy briefs like 'Establishment of Republic of Marshall Islands Monetary Authority'. Sharma's impact extends through partnerships with central banks of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste, Tonga, and Samoa; DFAT-funded fellowships and PhD scholarships; and events such as high-level IMF dialogues on capacity development, hosting central bank governors, and convening research conferences. He received the Griffith Internationalisation Award for Most Outstanding contribution, recognizing his role in bridging academia and Pacific policymaking.