Latest News

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:
15 March - Melbourne - view details and register to attend
23 March - Canberra - view details and register to attend (members-only event)
28 March - Adelaide - view details and register to attend
Joshua Gans is a Professor of Strategic Management and holder of the Jeffrey S. Skoll Chair of Technical Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Rotman School of Management, the University of Toronto
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Australian Conference of Economists 2023
The Australian Conference of Economists (ACE) 2023 will be held from the 9 - 12 July 2023 in Brisbane, Queensland.
Our aim is 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.
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Call for Papers - IEA Congress
The call for papers for contributed sessions closes on Feb 28. Papers can be submitted here.
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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) Read more...
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.
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Is education or immigration the answer to our skills shortage? We asked 50 economists
Poll 56
Investing in Australians’ education is far more important than immigration in resolving the nation’s skills shortages, according to leading economists surveyed in the lead-up to this week’s jobs and skills summit.
The 50 top Australian economists polled by the Economic Society of Australia and The Conversation are recognised by their peers as leaders in their fields, including economic modelling, labour markets and public policy.
Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND
Responses (50) Read more...
Central Council Executive, 2022-2025
Following the Central Council meeting held at ACE 2022, we are pleased to confirm that Catherine de Fontenay was elected unopposed as President; Russell Ross was re-elected unopposed as Secretary; and following a secret ballot,
Central Council would like to acknowledge and thank outgoing President Danielle Wood for her enormous contribution to the Society. You can read more about Central Council's Executive here.

'It’s important not to overreact’: Australia’s top economists on how to fix high inflation
Poll 55
Australia’s top economists are divided about how to tackle ballooning inflation of 6.1% that’s forecast to climb to a three-decade high of 7.75% by the end of the year.
Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND
Responses (47) Read more...
Awards 2022
A number of prestigious awards were bestowed upon worthy economists at a recent Zoom ceremony. Read on to find out who won the 2022 ESA National Awards.
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WEN Credible Blog Series Writing Competition - Winners Announcement
In 2022, NSW WEN hosted its inaugural writing competition as part of the Credible Economist series.
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ACE 2022
Australian Conference of Economists (ACE) 2022 was held from 10 to 13 July 2022 in Hobart, Tasmania as an in-person event. Our theme, Economics in the New Normal, sought to address the challenges that a post-pandemic world faces.
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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.
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ACE2021
The Australian Conference of Economists (ACE) 2021 was held from 12 to 14 July 2021 as a fully virtual event.
ACE 2021 celebrated over 100 years of welfare economics and brought together like-minded individuals to explore concepts of allocation, utilisation and distribution of our resources as they relate to the wealth and wellbeing of individuals and our society.
Where permission has been granted, we have uploaded presenations.
Read more...Events

ESA Eminent Speaker Series event with Professor Joshua Gans
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Tuesday Mar 28, 2023, 5:30 pm
Eminent Speaker Series: Speaker - Professor Joshua Gans, will give a talk for the ESA as part of our Eminent Speaker Series, entitled “ChatGPT and other AI: whose job is it coming for?”.
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ZOOM: ChatGPT and other AI: whose job is it coming for? - ONLINE ONLY
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Tuesday Mar 28, 2023, 5:30 pm
Timing of this event is ACDT (South Australia) - check the time converter.
As part of the ESA Central Council Eminent Speaker Series, Professor Joshua Gans, University of Toronto, will be presenting "ChatGPT and other AI: whose job is it coming for"?
You are in the right place to register for this event as a Zoom participant.
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Join us to hear about our latest research
Date: Wednesday Mar 29, 2023, 4:00 pm
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Michael Brennan Canvasses Australia's Productivity Performance and Prospects for Improvement. - ONLINE ONLY
Event Type: Partner Event
Date: Thursday Mar 30, 2023, 1:30 pm
5 Year Productivity Inquiry: Performance and reform
The Productivity Commission has finalised this Inquiry and reported to Government its findings and recommendations. There are six interim reports covering: the context for performance and reform; digital technology and data; innovation for business; policy for productivity; education; and the labour market.

Advancing Prosperity - Productivity Commission
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Thursday Mar 30, 2023, 5:30 pm
The Productivity Commission’s ‘ Advancing Prosperity’ report, released on 17 March 2023, shows Australia falling behind globally, with labour productivity growing at its slowest pace in 60 years. This critically important issue has taken a back seat in recent years to more pressing matters like the Covid-19 pandemic and the rising cost of living. Members are invited to join us as Dr Lisa Gropp, Productivity Commission, discusses this report which has drawn some favourable and unfavourable reviews in the media.
View ...Canberra Light Rail budgetary impacts: Dr Khalid Ahmed
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Thursday Mar 30, 2023, 6:00 pm
From: Australian Capital Territory
ESA wishes to invite you to our next event presented by Dr Khalid Ahmed, Adjunct Professor of the Institute of Governance and Policy Analysis. Dr Ahmed will talk about the financial aspects of light rail in Canberra in the broader context of its impact on the ACT Budget position.
Refreshments will be served.
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Is there an unfolding banking crisis? What lies behind recent failures, what are the implications? - ONLINE ONLY
Date: Friday Mar 31, 2023, 12:30 pm
There are a number of questions worth asking as the current crisis following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Fortunately, we are lucky enough to have Andrew Lilley, Chief Rates Strategist at Barrenjoey, to help us answer all these questions any many more.
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17th Western Economic Association International Conference
Event Type: Partner Event
Date: Wednesday Apr 12, 2023, 8:00 am
Whether in-person or virtually, WEAI conferences bring together top economists from around the world to discuss their latest research. Join the conversation and plan to present a paper or organize a session! Virtual sessions will be held via Zoom on April 11th, 2023, with the in-person conference being held April 12-15, 2023 at the University of Melbourne. Keynote addresses include David Card, Cecilia Rouse, and Richard Blundell.
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Policy in the Pub
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Thursday Apr 27, 2023, 6:00 pm
This year economists around the world are celebrating the 300th anniversary of the birth of Adam Smith. Come along to the pub to hear Paul Oslington, Professor of Economics and Theology at Alphacrucis University College discuss why should we care about a wig wearing, probably Aspergers suffering Scot who published a book entitled the Wealth of Nations a very long time ago?
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University of Sydney School of Economics | Perspectives on Adam Smith: A Symposium
Date: Friday May 26, 2023, 2:00 pm
To mark the tercentenary of the birth of Adam Smith, the School of Economics at the University of Sydney will be holding a Symposium: Perspectives on Adam Smith on Friday 26 May from 2.00pm – 5.30 pm. Registration is free.
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University of Sydney Adam Smith at 300
Date: Friday Jun 16, 2023, 6:00 pm

Australian Conference of Economists
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Sunday Jul 9, 2023, 12:00 am
The Australian Conference of Economists (ACE) 2023 will be held from the 9 - 12 July 2023 in Brisbane, Queensland.
Our aim is 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.
View ...
ESA Qld 2023 Business Lunch - Mr Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia
Event Type: ESA Event
Date: Wednesday Jul 12, 2023, 12:00 pm
The Economic Society of Australia (Qld) invites you to an important luncheon address featuring Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia. This event is being held in conjunction with the 2023 Australian Conference of Economists (see ace2023.org.au)

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 ...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.
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