Latest News

Expertise, Artificial Intelligence, and the Work of the Future
The ESA Central Council is delighted to announce that Professor David Autor, MIT will be joining us for what promises to be an interesting and insightful webinar. You are invited to join the discussion.
Will recent advances in AI complement human expertise, thereby increasing its value? Or will AI render expertise increasingly unnecessary, thus reducing its market value -- even if jobs are not in net eliminated?
Event
Date From : Wed Dec 6, 2023 : 12:00
Date To : Wed Dec 6, 2023 : 13:00

Why aren't more women studying economics?
Click here to listen to this ABC RN Breakfast interview with WEN Chair, Dr Angela Jackson.

Reintroduction of the Carbon Price
Poll 61
Worried economists call for a carbon price, a tax on coal exports, and ‘green tariffs’ to get Australia on the path to net zero

Vale Max Corden
The Economic Society mourns the loss of Max Corden (1927- 2023), one of the greatest international trade economists.
Read on for details of Max's memorial service.

ACE 2024
The next Australian Conference of Economists will be held in Adelaide, SA. Please hold the date: 10th - 12th July, 2024. Details to follow.

Unreserved - RBA's latest release of digitised archival records
The latest tranche of archival records has been released in the Bank’s digital archive, Unreserved. It includes early economic analysis conducted by the central bank from 1930 to 1970.

STEM professionals in schools
The ESA Central Council and the heads of Economics departments at various Australian universities have had a number of discussions about declining enrolments in Economics and the lack of diversity in enrolments. There are low enrolments of women, but there are also low enrolments of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is largely due to the decline in the number of high schools that offer Economics as a subject. High schools in disadvantaged areas are particularly unlikely to offer Economics.

We can and should keep unemployment below 4%, says our survey of top economists
Poll 60
Australia’s leading economists believe Australia can sustain an unemployment rate as low as 3.75% – much lower than the latest Reserve Bank estimate of 4.25% and the Treasury’s latest estimate of 4.5%.

IEA Update from Dani Rodrik
The most important development to report is that our project on Advancing Women in Leadership in Economics, with the acronym IEA-WE, has been fully launched. This is a multi-year project that has been generously funded by Co-Impact Foundation and the Open Society Foundation.

Awards 2023
A number of prestigious awards were bestowed upon worthy economists at ACE2023, held in Brisbane. Read on to find out who won the 2023 ESA National Awards.

ACE 2023
The Australian Conference of Economists (ACE) 2023 was held from the 9 - 12 July 2023 in Brisbane, Queensland.
The aim was to organise a conference with interest to all economists, both academic and professional. Only by a balanced approach of practice and theory can we solve the problems our society faces.
Presentations are uploaded where permission has been received.

Budget 2023
Poll 59
Our panellists were asked the following 2023 budget question: "On May 9, the government delivered a budget designed, in the Treasurer's words, to strike a balance between relief, repair and restraint'. What grade would you give the budget, given that objective: A, B, C, D, E or F?"
Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

How economists would raise $20 billion per year
Poll 58
When panellests were asked to find an extra A$20 billion per year to fund government priorities like building nuclear submarines and responding to climate change, Australia’s top economists overwhelmingly back land tax, increased resource taxes, an attack on negative gearing and extending the scope of the goods and services tax.
Photo credit by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash
Responses (59)
Modernising Research Assessment in Australia
The Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) and the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia are seeking the views of researchers in Australia on how assessment practices in universities, governments and the private sector shape research careers and how they influence researchers’ choices and priorities.

Eminent Speaker Series 2023
The Central Council Executive is delighted to see the return of the Eminent Speaker Series. Professor Joshua Gans of University of Toronto will visit three locations as part of this program. If you missed seeing Professor Gans in person, you can follow the links here to catch up on his presentation.

Call for Papers - IEA Congress
The call for papers for contributed sessions closes on Feb 28. Papers can be submitted here.

Leading economists back Federal Government action to curb rising gas and electricity prices
Poll 57
Australia’s top economists have overwhelmingly endorsed intervention to restrain gas and electricity prices, with only three of the 47 leading economists surveyed believing the best thing the government can do is to leave things to the market.
Photo credit: Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND
Responses (47)
Unreserved - RBA's latest release of digitised archival records
The Reserve Bank has been releasing a large volume of digitised archival records to the public through our digital archive (called Unreserved). These records span nearly 200 years of Australia’s economic, financial and social history. The latest release includes records about the work and influence of Dr HC Coombs along with additional records from the Bank’s Research Department, with much of the new information covering the period from the Bank’s ‘separation’ from the original Commonwealth Bank in 1960 through to the early 1970s.

WEN Credible Blog Series Writing Competition - Winners Announcement
In 2022, NSW WEN hosted its inaugural writing competition as part of the Credible Economist series.

Vale Professor Geoffrey Brennan
It is with great sadness that the Economic Society of Australia acknowledges the passing of Professor Geoffrey Brennan.
Geoffrey Brennan was an outstanding scholar, who did ground-breaking work in economics and philosophy and at their intersection and played a major role in the development of PPE as a global interdisciplinary research program.
Events

Australian Labour Market Research Workshop
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Monday Dec 4, 2023, 12:00 am
Participants and discussants will include senior academic economists and labour economists in the public and private sectors. Early career researchers, including PhD students close to completing, are particularly encouraged to submit papers. Any theoretical, applied or policy related papers on any aspect of the labour market are welcome. Papers, which need only to be at ‘working paper’ stage, will be selected on the basis of their quality and in relation to their general interest. Call for Papers
View ...
Joint End of Year WEN Event & ESA AGM
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Tuesday Dec 5, 2023, 5:00 pm
We are delighted to invite you to the annual general meeting of ESA-SA branch which will be followed by a special talk by Melissa Wilson (CEDA) discussing, “Dynamic Capabilities: How Australian firms can survive and thrive in uncertain times” . The event will end with networking drinks and nibbles.
Sorry: Bookings are now closed
View ...ESA / WEN end of year sundowner
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Tuesday Dec 5, 2023, 5:30 pm
We welcome members and non-members of all genders to join us for our end of year sundowner. Canapés will be served and drinks can be purchased at the bar.
Sorry: Bookings are now closed
View ...
Expertise, Artificial Intelligence, and the Work of the Future - ONLINE ONLY
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Wednesday Dec 6, 2023, 12:00 pm
The ESA Central Council is delighted to announce that Professor David Autor, MIT will be joining us for what promises to be an interesting and insightful webinar. You are invited to join the discussion.
Will recent advances in AI complement human expertise, thereby increasing its value? Or will AI render expertise increasingly unnecessary, thus reducing its market value -- even if jobs are not in net eliminated?
View ...
ESA ACT: Christmas Drinks 2023
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Thursday Dec 7, 2023, 5:30 pm
From: Australian Capital Territory
Kindly sponsored by

IEA World Congress
Event Type: Partner Event
Date: Monday Dec 11, 2023, 12:00 am
Call for Papers
The President of the International Economic Association (IEA) and Program Chair of the Twentieth World Congress of the IEA, invites you to submit a paper to the contributed sessions of this triennial congress, jointly organized with Universidad EAFIT, that will be held in Medellin, Colombia from December 11 to 15, 2023.
View ...
End of Year Event and AGM 2023
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Tuesday Dec 12, 2023, 6:00 pm
The Economic Society is looking forward to getting together in person, and promoting connection among our members and those interested in contemporary economic issues and debate.
View ...
End of Year Event 2023 at the Ship Inn
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Thursday Dec 14, 2023, 6:00 pm
The Queensland Branch of the Economic Society of Australia, in a joint event with Women in Economics Network (Qld) and Young Economists (Qld), invites all members and guests to end of year celebrations at the Ship Inn on Thursday 14 December from 6.00pm to 8.30pm.
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Tis the Season: The Economics of Hope - ONLINE ONLY
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Monday Dec 18, 2023, 5:00 pm
An End of Year Webinar from the National Committee of the Women in Economics Network
In a year that has seemed too often to be void of hope, end your year with some fresh perspectives on the importance of hope through the ages and what it means in modern economic thought.
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Credible Economist Writing Competition: Winners Announcement - ONLINE ONLY
Date: Tuesday Dec 19, 2023, 12:00 pm
Join us for this final event as we celebrate the winners of the competition. The judges will share key tips on effective writing in economics and provide generalised feedback on the articles submitted. They will also announce the winners and explain the selection process.
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Australian Gender Economics Workshop 2024
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Thursday Feb 1, 2024, 9:00 am
The 7th annual Australian Gender Economics Workshop (AGEW2024), hosted by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) will be held in person at the UTS campus, on the 1 – 2 February 2024. Registration will open later in the month. Paper or extended abstract submissions are currently open and will close on Sunday 17th September 2023 at 11:59 pm (AEST). For more information please visit: https://sites.google.com/uts.edu.au/agew-2024/home.
Call for Papers - deadline is now extended to Monday October 2nd, 2023 at 11:59 pm (AEST).

68th Annual Conference of AARES
Event Type: Partner Event
Date: Tuesday Feb 6, 2024, 12:00 am
The 68th Annual Conference of AARES will be held in Canberra, Australia from 6 to 9 February 2024.
The AARES 2024 Annual Conference will explore the grand challenges that are facing the Australasian region and beyond, such as biosecurity, climate change, environmental degradation, energy system transitions, and food security. The conference will provide a forum for our Society to explore new opportunities for research and development, and policy practice that can address these grand challenges in securing efficient, effective, and equitable outcomes. Distinguished researchers and professionals will present keynote presentations to inspire and stimulate discussion.
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[POSTPONED] For high school students - Why you won’t regret studying HSC Economics
Date: Friday Mar 1, 2024, 1:00 pm
[THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL MARCH 2024, EXACT DATE TBA] Hear from a panel of Economists from a range of sectors, keen to share their love of economics, why they never regretted studying economics at school/university, and why high school is the best time to be thinking about how economics can be applied to solve real world problems.
View ...Welcome
Welcome to the National website of the Economic Society of Australia (The Society). The Society is primarily concerned with promoting discussion and debate of economic issues within Australia.