David A. Hensher

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David A. Hensher
Born (1947-07-31) July 31, 1947 (age 78)
Bromley, Kent, England [1]
CitizenshipUK, Australia
Alma mater University of New South Wales (BCom Hons I; PhD)
Known forStated- and revealed-preference methods; applied discrete-choice models; road-user charging
AwardsMember of the Order of Australia (2023) · IATBR Lifetime Achievement Award (2009) · Engineers Australia Transport Medal (2006) · John Shaw Medal (2019) · Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (1995)
Scientific career
FieldsTransport economics; discrete-choice modelling
Institutions University of Sydney (Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies)
Thesis The Consumer's Choice Function: A Study of Traveller Behaviour and Values (1972 [1] )

David Alan Hensher (born 31 July 1947) is an Australian transport economist and academic. He is Professor of Management and the founding Director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) at the University of Sydney Business School. [2] Hensher is widely regarded as a pioneer of discrete-choice modelling in transport analysis; his 2003 survey of the mixed logit model remains one of the field’s most-cited papers. [3] According to Google Scholar, he has an h-index above 124 and more than 80,000 citations, placing him among the most-cited economists of his generation. [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Hensher was born in Bromley, Kent and educated in Kenya, England and Australia. [1] He completed a Bachelor of Commerce with first-class honours at the University of New South Wales in 1969 and a PhD in economics at the same institution in 1972. [1] A Nuffield–St Cross post-doctoral fellowship took him to the Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford, in 1975–76. [1]

Academic career

After lectureships at Macquarie University and consulting appointments, Hensher joined the University of Sydney in 1988. Two years later he founded ITLS, which is rated “well above world standard” (ERA level 5) in transport research. [5] Under his leadership the institute has become a leading centre for graduate education and industry engagement, and Hensher has supervised more than 100 doctoral and master’s theses. [2]

Research and contributions

Hensher’s research spans travel-behaviour analysis, public-transport policy, mobility-as-a-service and road-user charging, but his most enduring impact lies in discrete-choice modelling. His early book Applied Discrete-Choice Modelling (1981) offered the first practical guide to estimating multinomial-logit models, [6] while Stated Choice Methods (2000) systematised experimental design for stated-preference surveys. [7] With colleagues John Rose and William Greene he later published Applied Choice Analysis (2005,2015), a widely used graduate text. [8] Hensher’s empirical work has influenced the appraisal of major infrastructure and the design of bus-rapid-transit systems worldwide, and his 2003 review article on the mixed logit model is cited more than 2,900 times. [3]

Honours and recognition

Selected works

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Curriculum Vitae – David A. Hensher" (PDF). University of Sydney. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 "David Hensher – Contributor profile". Sydney Business Insights, University of Sydney. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Hensher, David A.; Greene, William H. (2003). "The mixed logit model: the state of practice". Transportation. 30 (2): 133–176. doi:10.1023/A:1022558715350.
  4. ↑ "David A. Hensher – Google Scholar" . Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Order of Australia awarded to transport research doyen". University of Sydney Business School News. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 Hensher, David A.; Johnson, Lester W.; Louviere, Jordan J.; Horowitz, Joel (1981). Applied discrete-choice modelling. Croom Helm [u.a.] ISBN   978-0-470-27078-3.
  7. 1 2 Louviere, Jordan J.; Swait, Joffre D.; Hensher, David A. (2000). Stated choice methods: analysis and applications. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN   9780521788304.
  8. 1 2 Hensher, David A.; Rose, John M.; Greene, William H. (2005). Applied choice analysis: a primer. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521605779.
  9. ↑ "Fellows recognised in Australia's Top Researchers list". Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  10. ↑ "IATBR Lifetime Achievement Award recipients". International Association for Travel Behaviour Research. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  11. ↑ "Transport Medal – Civil College : Previous Winners" (PDF). Engineers Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Professor David Hensher receives Australia Day honour". Roads Australia. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
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