Bringing academics and policymakers together

Professor Robert Breunig has been madea Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, an honour reserved forleading academics, policymakers and practitioners in the social sciences. 

"I am very honoured and grateful to be elected to the Academy," Bob said.  

The Fellowship is in recognition of an individual's contribution to the advancement of social science knowledge and the impact they have made. 

With a resumé second to none,Bob is more than a worthy recipient.  

As Director of theTax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Bobis one of Australia's leading public policy economists. Bob also served as Director of the Crawford School from 2015 to 2016. 

Through his research, Bobhas made a significant policy impact through several research projects: the relationship between childcare and women's labour supply, the effect of immigration to Australia on the labour market prospects of Australians and the effect of switching to cash from food stamps in the U.S. food stamp program. 

His work is published in more than50 international academic journals in economics and public policy. 

Bob's expertise has also led to many prestigiouspartnerships with government agencies in Australia and overseas. He works regularly with the Australian Treasury, the Department of Employment, the Department of Industry, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, the Productivity Commission, the Australian Bureau of Statistics as well as many others. 

What is perhaps most impressive of all is Bob'sdrive to improve Australians' wellbeing through government policy.  

"A lot of my work has been training people in the public service on how to use economic insights to form policy," Bob said.  

In fostering the all-important link between academic and policy, Bob has an extensive track record in helping the Australian public service build research capacity.  

Most recently, Bob is working on policy solutions around tax reform grounded in empirical evidence and cutting-edge economic theory that will help Australia's post-pandemic economic growth.  

With a clear vision for his future research, Bob is looking forward to his new appointment as a Fellowof the Academy of the Social Sciences.   

"Ithink the Academy is a useful organisation in bringing together academics and policymakers - and this matches well with what I love to do." 

Story by Pamela Hutchinson