Latest News

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

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.

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.

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%.

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/

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.

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 Victoria - Get involved
The Victorian WEN committee is seeking interested members to join the 2023 Committee as general committee.

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.

Follow us on Twitter
We are delighted to announce the launch of ESA's Twitter account. Keep up to date with economics-related topics and be part of the conversation.

Will robots take our jobs? A conversation with Professor Jeff Borland
The robots are coming. The world of human work is fast disappearing. This is the future according to the doomsayers who seem at present to dominate discussion on the effects of computers in Australia. It’s a catchy story, and perhaps it fits with what we feel is happening around us. But it has rather a big problem. There is not much (or any) evidence to support it.
In the first of a new series of podcasts for members we ask Professor Jeff Borland: Will robots take our jobs?

Technology & Competition laws: A conversation with Dr Stephen King
"If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold."
twitter.com/andlewis/status/
There is little doubt that consumers have benefited from zero price services from the likes of Facebook, Google and even Visa and Mastercard. But is there such a thing as a free emoji? In this podcast Dr. Stephen King explains the two-sided nature of the markets in which these companies compete. He also discusses how economists have grappled with the complexity of these markets in problems ranging from the misuse of market power to ownership of personalised data.

Fitness & the future of work: time to swap out the marathon for F45 - A conversation with Karen Chester
Jobs matter – they are not only a source of income, but also a source of self-esteem, social interaction, purpose and even community. The concept of work, however, is rapidly changing with the advent of the digital economy and a rapidly aging population. So what can Australians do to improve their job prospects and security?
In this podcast Karen Chester discusses recent trends in Australia’s labour market and the fundamental fractures in Australia’s education and training system that could be leaving us unprepared for our current and future labour markets

Keynote address by Professor Sir Tim Besley to the Australian Conference of Economists
Keynote address by Professor Sir Tim Besley to the Australian Conference of Economists, Melbourne 2019
This is a special edition of the regular ESA podcast, featuring a recording of the keynote speech from the Australian Conference of Economists in Melbourne on 15 July 2019. Professor Sir Tim Besley spoke on Why policy economists should study the dynamics of culture.

Keynote address by Professor Wendy Carlin to the Australian Conference of Economists
Keynote address by Professor Wendy Carlin to the Australian Conference of Economists, Melbourne 2019
This is a special edition of the regular ESA podcast, featuring a recording of the keynote speech from the Australian Conference of Economists in Melbourne on 16 July 2019. Professor Wendy Carlin from University College London spoke on the Future of Economics & Economics Education - Insights from Machine Learning.

Career advice for young women from University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne has launched a campaign that's designed to highlight the women in their Faculty and provides career advice to young women.
Follow this link to view the youtube video, which features some of their top female academics (including economist Guyonne Kalb and Abigail Payne).

Short Supply - ESSA's Annual Student Publication
Short Supply is an annual publication of the Economics Student Society of Australia. Launched in 2015 by ESSA’s Monash University branch, it has served as an outlet for student writers and academics to share thoughts and insights on a particular theme. This year's publication, which was launched in mid-August, focuses on the theme of "disasters". Previous editions of the publication are also available on the ESSA website.
Infrastructure Victoria Policy Paper - Good Move: Fixing Transport Congestion
On Wednesday 25 March 2020, Infrastructure Victoria released its latest policy paper on transport network pricing -- Good Move: Fixing Transport Congestion. You can view Infrastructure Victoria's presentation on the paper here. The Victorian Branch is working with Infrastructure Victoria to bring Economic Society members a webinar or podcast on this research in coming weeks. Stay tuned for more details.
Victorian Branch Postpones Public Events Until Further Notice Due to COVID-19
Given the exceptional circumstances surrounding COVID-19, the Victorian Branch of the Economic Society of Australia will be postponing public events until further notice. This includes the Women in Economics Network and the ESA Young Professionals. This is the most sensible course of action to keep our presenters, members, attendees and other members of the community safe. We will closely monitor developments and bring back our events when it is safe to do so.
Events

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 ...
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.
View ...
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.
View ...Welcome
Welcome to the Victorian Branch of the Economic Society of Australia
The Victorian Branch of the Economic Society of Australia was formed in 1925. As such the Society is one of the oldest professional associations in Australia, and the Victorian Branch one of the largest branches of the organization. The Economic Society of Australia is affiliated with the International Economics Association.