Dr Richard Tooth

Director

SYDNEY

+61 2 9234 0200

+61 412 105 817

rtooth@thinkSapere.com

Richard is an economist with expertise in economic policy, regulation and applied econometrics. His expertise crosses a range of industries including water, energy, information technology, natural resources, land transport, insurance and other financial services. His clients include corporations, industry associations, government departments and regulators.

Richard has over 20 years’ consulting experience (around 15 with Sapere) and has led over 100 engagements. He has authored several research publications and lectured at a post-graduate level. He is a former President of the NSW branch of the Economic Society of Australia and is currently a research associate with the Centre for Water Economics Environment and Policy at the Crawford School of Economics, Australian National University.

Specialisations

Expertise

Data analytics
Economic and market analysis
Evaluations
Regulatory and cost benefit analysis
Strategy and business cases

Industries

Economic development
Finance and insurance
Infrastructure and transport
Public sector policy and finance

Qualifications & accolades

PhD, School of Economics, University of New South Wales, 2006
Master of Business Administration, University of Victoria, Canada, 1994 (Finished top of class)
Bachelor of Science, University of Tasmania, 1986 Major in Information Science & Mathematics (Placed on Dean’s Roll of Honour for each year attended)

Recent work highlights include:

Stormwater Pricing Study for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission
Review and test of a framework for valuing green infrastructure and public spaces
Developing an approach for water utilities to assess water efficiency investments
Cost-benefit analysis and strategic business case support for investment in the NSW cultural infrastructure
Critique/review of a water utility’s customer engagement
A review of the application of the Consumer Data Right to the insurance sector
Regulatory review of a demand adjustment mechanism in the water sector
Gateway reviews for NSW investments (including in a hospital development, water infrastructure, and land acquisition)
Developing a business case for investment in Sale Yards in regional community
A grant application/business case for to support the development of an industrial transport precinct

Case studies

Stormwater Pricing Study for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission / Te Waihanga

Better measurement of the direct and indirect costs and benefits of resilience

Dr Richard Tooth's

recent articles

Thinking about utility customer engagement

In this article Dr Richard Tooth examines developments in how regulated utilities engage with their customers, the problem of uninformed respondent bias and other issues.

Utility pricing – to block or not to block

Rather than provide a volume discount, some utilities charge a higher rate for greater use. This approach, known as an inclining or rising block tariff, is often advocated as being a fair way to encourage conservation. But is this really the case? This article investigates.