Eminent Speaker Series: Prof. Alan Manning - ONLINE ONLY

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Feb 11, 2026, 8:00 am

From: Central Council

Immigration policy is hard, involving difficult decisions and trade-offs. But, as Alan Manning – former chair of the UK's Migration Advisory Committee – makes clear, this doesn't mean that we can't do much better.

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AGEW 2026

Date: Wednesday Feb 11, 2026, 12:00 am

From: Central Council

The Australian Gender Economics Workshop (AGEW) is a premier conference dedicated to advancing gender economics in Australia. Now in its ninth year, AGEW is held in collaboration with the Women in Economics Network (WEN), and brings together a diverse mix of scholars and policymakers from both Australia and abroad.

Is Australia’s housing crisis really just about boosting supply?

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Feb 4, 2026, 12:30 pm

Join Professor Peter Abelson as he presents his latest work on the NSW Government’s new housing policies and what they mean for communities in Sydney and across the state. 

In this session, Peter Abelson examines why additional dwellings may only have marginal price effects and challenges the idea that Australia’s housing crisis is simply about boosting supply.

This is a hybrid event - join in-person at 123 Pitt St, Sydney or Online.

Please let us know how you plan to attend when registering.

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The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics: A Conversation on Innovation, Technological Progress and Creative Destruction

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Dec 3, 2025, 6:00 pm

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences recognises Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth”. Their work illuminates how technological progress and creative destruction underpin sustained improvements in productivity and living standards.

Join Professors Hugh Harley and Petr Sedláček for a conversation on the ideas behind this year’s award and what they reveal about the forces driving long-run economic growth.

We invite you to stay for drinks and canapés, and the chance to chat informally with our speakers, guests and other attendees.

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WEN x RBA Gender Equity ERG Panel: Career Insights from Leading Women in Economics

Event Type: Women in Economics Event

Date: Wednesday Nov 26, 2025, 4:15 pm

Join the Women in Economics Network (WEN) and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Gender Equity Employee Resource Group for a discussion with four leading economists — Dr Renée Fry-McKibbin, Sarina Lacey, Diana Mousina and Dr Pauline Grosjean.

Hear their stories, insights, and perspectives on the changing landscape of economics as a profession. The conversation will be moderated by Nalini Agarwal, Lead Analyst at the RBA.

📍 Reserve Bank of Australia, 8 Chifley Square, Sydney & Online

This hybrid event is exclusive to WEN members, with limited in-person places available. Networking and refreshments will follow the panel discussion.

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If AI takes most of our jobs, money as we know it will be over. What then?

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Nov 19, 2025, 12:30 pm

Join Associate Professor Ben Spies-Butcher as he explores how artificial intelligence could reshape our economies. Will AI deliver abundance, drive unemployment — or both?

Drawing on lessons from past technological shifts and recent policy experiments, this talk examines how AI is transforming money, work and value — and whether its impact is technological or deeply social.

This is a hybrid event - join in-person at 123 Pitt St, Sydney or Online.

Please let us know how you plan to attend when registering.

Registration and Joining this Webinar

To register please book online below. The link to join this event will be automatically generated and sent within your confirmation invoice.

The timing of this event is AEDT (SYD/CBR/MEL).

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Distinguished Speaker event, featuring Deborah Cobb-Clark AO

Event Type: co-hosted event

Date: Wednesday Oct 29, 2025, 2:30 pm

We are pleased to invite you to our next Distinguished Speaker event, featuring Deborah Cobb-Clark AO, Australia's leading expert on the impact of social policy on economic outcomes.

Psychologists argue that self-control is “one of the most powerful and beneficial adaptations of the human psyche.” Yet many people struggle to follow through on their goals. Understanding when and why choices fail to align with intentions lies at the heart of behavioural economics research.

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on the foundations of self-control in psychology and economics, new ways to study it using Australian data, and the implications for public policy and outcomes.

This is now only available online. The in-person event is at capacity. Please email admin@esansw.org.au if you want to go on the waitlist for the in-person section of the event.

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Talent Misallocation and the Productivity Puzzle

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Thursday Oct 9, 2025, 5:30 pm

Join Professor Ufuk Akcigit, of the University of Chicago as he explores the productivity slowdown in the US and other high-income countries, including Australia, and examines how talent misallocation contributes to this challenge. He will discuss how higher education, retraining initiatives, and R&D policies can work together to drive productivity growth.

This is a hybrid event - join in-person at 123 Pitt St, Sydney or Online.

Please let us know how you plan to attend when registering.

Registration and Joining this Webinar

To register please book online below. The link to join this event will be automatically generated and sent within your confirmation invoice.  Please note, these often get trapped in spam filters.  

The timing of this event is AEDT (SYD/CBR/MEL).

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An intimate conversation with Westpac’s Chief Economist Luci Ellis

Event Type: co-hosted event

Date: Wednesday Oct 8, 2025, 5:30 pm

Join the WEN New South Wales for an inspiring evening with Luci Ellis, Chief Economist of Westpac Bank, followed by an opportunity to network with your fellow WEN members.

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A Future for Private Health? - ONLINE ONLY

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Oct 1, 2025, 12:00 pm

From: Central Council

Australia’s private health sector is confronting a period of significant challenge, marked by rising operational costs, persistent workforce shortages, stagnant demand, and increasing out-of-pocket expenses for consumers. These pressures have resulted in declining profitability, hospital closures, adversarial insurer-provider relationships, and a lack of transparency, with confidence further undermined by the collapse of Healthscope. There are growing concerns that instability in the private sector will increase pressure on Australia’s already overburdened public system.

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ESA NSW Branch - AGM 2025

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Thursday Sep 25, 2025, 5:15 pm

Notice is given that the Annual General Meeting of the ESA NSW Branch will be held on Thursday 25 September 2025 at 5.15pm sharp.

All members are encouraged to attend in person. The AGM will be followed by a social function, including a talk on USAID Cuts, Australia, and the Future of International Aid and Development, by Roland Rajah, Lead Economist at the Lowy Institute, and Director of its Indo-Pacific Development Centre.

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Cost Benefit Analysis Forum 2025

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Tuesday Sep 23, 2025, 8:15 am

Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is a key tool for supporting evidence-based decision making and ensuring public accountability.

This year's event include reflections on the first two years of the Australian Centre for Evaluation, new developments in NSW Treasury guidelines, the First Nations Investment Framework, CBA and AI, water quality, resilience, health, cultural heritage, distributional issues, and more.

The program will conclude with demonstrations of CBA and AI in practice and a panel exploring opportunities, risks and future directions.

The Forum will be relevant for experienced practitioners, newcomers to CBA, and all who use it to inform decisions.

As an in-person event, participants are able to connect and exchange ideas with colleagues, peers, and industry experts from a wide range of sectors.

REGISTER TODAY 

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The Economics of Women's Health: Lunchtime Seminar - ONLINE ONLY

Event Type: Women in Economics Event

Date: Thursday Sep 18, 2025, 12:00 pm

Join us for the second year of our annual Women's Health Event, with a special focus on menopause and its impact on the workplace, wellbeing, and the economy. This virtual seminar will feature two academic speakers sharing their research and insights into key women's health issues in the Australian context. The event will include short presentations followed by a discussion on the future of women’s health and where we go next.

The event will be held on Thursday 18 September, 12.00-1.00pm, via Teams

Registration is free for all WEN members.

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Medicine in an era of exponential technological change: what will this mean for you, and for Australia?

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Sep 17, 2025, 11:45 am

Medical technology is being transformed by advances in genomics, AI-driven data science, and new therapeutics. Together, they define genomic medicine—already changing genetic diagnosis and cancer care, with potential to reshape all of healthcare. These opportunities come with challenges: quality, cost, and equity. Prof MacArthur will outline the promise of genomic medicine and the need for coordinated solutions across research, healthcare, policy, and society.

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Cost Benefit Analysis for fun and profit - an update

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Sep 3, 2025, 12:30 pm

Cost Benefit Analysis is the preferred tool for economic evaluation within government and for supporting evidence based decisions.

This talk will give a non-technical overview of recent CBA developments, issues, guidance and practice in NSW, Australia and overseas - including the emerging role for AI. 

It is a teaser for people interested in attending the CBA Forum 2025 on Sept 23rd and a consolation prize for anyone, perhaps still just CBA curious, who cannot attend.

REGISTER NOW

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Replacing Corporate Income Tax with a Cashflow Tax - ONLINE ONLY

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Tuesday Sep 2, 2025, 12:30 pm

Join us for a compelling conversation with Craig Emerson, renowned economist and former Minister for Trade, on the case for introducing a cashflow tax in Australia.

In 2020, Craig co-authored a landmark paper exploring how replacing Corporate Income Tax with a Cashflow Tax could unlock stronger investment incentives and economic resilience. This reform idea has recently been spotlighted by the Productivity Commission as a key lever for building a more dynamic and future-ready economy.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear firsthand from one of Australia’s leading policy thinkers on a bold alternative to business taxation.

REGISTER TODAY

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NSW Treasury & ESA NSW - Distinguished Speaker Event: Is it time to bring back a price on Carbon?

Event Type: co-hosted event

Date: Wednesday Aug 27, 2025, 1:00 pm

NSW Treasury and the Economic Society of Australia invites you to a Distinguished Speaker event with Rod Sims AO

We are pleased to invite you to attend our next Distinguished Speaker event, featuring one of Australia's leading public policy expert, Rod Sims AO. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on carbon pricing - why it remains the most economically efficient tool for reducing emissions, and how it could be reintroduced into the policy landscape in Australia.

In Conversation with Rod Maddock - Young Economist Event - ONLINE ONLY

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Tuesday Aug 26, 2025, 11:30 am

From: Central Council

The Productivity Commission Seminar Team is organising an event which may be of interest to young economists, who are invited to join this session via Teams.  

Rod Maddock is one of very few economists who has worked across major corporates, government, universities, and lobbyists. He has pursued economics from econometrics to macroeconomics, and then to economic history, economic development, regulatory economics, public policy, finance, and regional planning.

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The role of business visits in fostering R&D investment

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Aug 20, 2025, 12:30 pm

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The Future of Money - ONLINE ONLY

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Aug 20, 2025, 12:00 pm

From: Central Council

Rapid changes in technology and in the preferences of firms and households are features of the Australian economy, nowhere else more so than in the payments system. How are central banks, including the RBA, thinking about the future of money, both digital and physical cash? What could be the role of central bank digital currencies, stablecoins and tokenised bank deposits in supporting innovation, and what are the financial stability risks? And how could the demand for physical cash evolve in the future? 

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The paradigm shift in Australian labour market policy: Balancing efficiency with equity

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Aug 6, 2025, 12:30 pm

Australia’s labour market reforms since the 1990s were aimed at prioritising business ‘efficiency’ over other policy goals. Governments gave employers increased discretion over workforce decisions relating to pay-setting, recruitment and training, and reduced the influence of trade unions and employment tribunals over these processes. These changes were seen as necessary to allow employers to adjust to an increasingly competitive business environment following the liberal economic reforms of the 1980s. In this context, this presentation will analyse the paradigm shift in Australian labour market policy since 2022 aimed at balancing business ‘efficiency’ with workforce ‘equity’. Through an analysis of changes to wage-setting and bargaining, workplace gender equality and skilled immigration, it will argue the post-1990s wave of efficiency-oriented policies produced not only ‘inequities’ including low wage growth, gender-based job undervaluation and underpayment, but also ‘inefficiencies’ including skills shortages and competitive disadvantages for compliant employers. As well as analysing the post-2022 changes, the presentation will consider possible future labour market reform options.

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Emerging Women in Economics Cocktail Event

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Thursday Jul 31, 2025, 6:00 pm

The Economic Society of Australia invites you to an inspiring evening of connection and conversation at our ‘Emerging Women in Economics’ cocktail event.

This special gathering is designed to bring together early-career women economists, students, professionals, and friends of the field for a relaxed and uplifting night of networking and idea-sharing.

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Charting Australia’s path to a fairer and more prosperous future - ONLINE ONLY

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Wednesday Jul 30, 2025, 12:30 pm

Recent events in the USA and Europe show how rising inequalities can fuel social division, polarisation and political instability. This serves as a stark reminder of how important it is to monitor the health of our nation and take action to avoid a similar fate. So how does Australia’s progress on key economic, social and environmental indicators compare to our peers? Where are we falling behind and what are the risks? Can we turn around the rising levels of inequality, declining investment in innovation, and persistent poverty in Australia and chart a path to a fairer and more prosperous future? Our new report card on Australia’s progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) helps to answer these crucial questions. 

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WEN NSW Branch - AGM 2025-26 - ONLINE ONLY

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Thursday Jul 10, 2025, 12:00 pm

Notice is hereby given of the Annual General Meeting of the Women in Economics Network (NSW Branch).

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WEN-NSW Coffee Meetup at ACE 2025

Event Type: ESA Event

Date: Tuesday Jul 8, 2025, 8:00 am

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Australian Conference of Economists (ACE), the Women in Economics Network (WEN) NSW is hosting a casual coffee catch-up for women economists in Sydney.

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