The Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (often simply referred to as "The Melbourne Institute") is an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n
economicEconomics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
research institute based in
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
,
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
. The institute is a department of the Faculty of Economics at the
University of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia, and the oldest in Victoria...
.
The Melbourne Institute was formed in 1962 under the leadership of Professor Ronald Henderson. It was the first economic research institute in an Australian university.
The Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (often simply referred to as "The Melbourne Institute") is an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n
economicEconomics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
research institute based in
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
,
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
. The institute is a department of the Faculty of Economics at the
University of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia, and the oldest in Victoria...
.
History
The Melbourne Institute was formed in 1962 under the leadership of Professor Ronald Henderson. It was the first economic research institute in an Australian university. Henderson built up an organisation with about 40 staff by the early 1970s. It engaged in a wide range of research areas including
macroeconomicMacroeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the performance, structure, and behavior of a national or regional economy as a whole. Along with microeconomics, macroeconomics is one of the two most general fields in economics. It is the study of the behavior and decision-making of entire...
forecasting,
financial economicsFinancial economics is the branch of economics concerned with "the allocation and deployment of economic resources, both spatially and across time, in an uncertain environment" ....
and social economics, and is best remembered for its work on poverty and the development of the Henderson Poverty Line.
After the Henderson era, Professor Peter Dixon was appointed Director and after some restructuring, the new Melbourne Institute based its operation around Dixon's
ORANIComputable general equilibrium models are a class of economic models that use actual economic data to estimate how an economy might react to changes in policy, technology or other external factors...
model of the Australian economy. In the early 1990s Peter Dixon and a number of his senior colleagues left the institute to join
Monash UniversityMonash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Australia. It is Australia's largest university with about 55,000 students.The University has a total of eight campuses: six in Victoria, Australia , one in Malaysia and one in South Africa...
. This necessitated a second period of adjustment and restructuring initiated by Professor Richard Blandy who was Director from 1992 to 1994.
Professor Peter Dawkins, took up his position of Director in January 1996. In that year, the Director and his senior management team, in association with the staff and the advisory board, developed a strategic plan with the unifying theme being the link between economic performance and social outcomes. The first version of this plan was for the period 1996-2000 and it is updated annually.
Professor John Freebairn was appointed Director in 2005 and returned to the Faculty of Economics in 2007. The current Director is Professor Stephen Sedgwick, former Board member of the
Asian Development BankThe Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established in 1966 to promote economic and social development in Asian and Pacific countries through loans and technical assistance. It is a multilateral development financial institution owned by 67 members , 48 from the region and 19...
.
Current activities
The institute manages the
Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in AustraliaThe Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey is an Australian household-based panel study which began in 2001. It has been used for examining issues such as the incidence of persistent poverty; assets and income in the transition to retirement; the correlates and impact of...
(HILDA) household panel survey, a national longitudinal study of household economies, labour force participation and family change. It is also undertaking a panel study of General Practitioners examining the determinants of medical workforce shortages, undertakes detailed labour market research, is examining the relationship of
povertyPoverty is the condition of lacking basic human needs such as nutrition, clean water, health care, clothing, and shelter because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution...
and
human capitalHuman capital refers to the stock of skills and knowledge embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the skills and knowledge gained by a worker through education and experience...
and examines the economic impacts of
intellectual propertyIntellectual property is a number of distinct types of legal monopolies over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law...
. The institute produces regular reports which track consumer sentiment and economic activity (both reports get widespread media comment in Australia), and annual rankings of the standing of Australian Universities and of individual disciplines. The institute hosts a biennial conference with a focus on economic performance and social outcomes. The institute has recently hosted a conference on changes needed in the Australian Taxation system.
External links