Economic ideas and competition between autocracy and democracy

Refreshments will be provided after the public lecture.

Hear economist Professor Ross Garnaut AC discuss the global evolution of economic policy and its impact on Australia today.

People and ideas from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Central Europe in the early twentieth century were highly influential in shaping economic policy in the United States and United Kingdom late in the century. Such policies favoured unconstrained market exchange and have been deeply problematic in practice. In postwar Australia, refugees from Germanic Central Europe had a different impact, strengthening liberal social democratic thought about policy, with much better outcomes.

Ross will discuss Australia’s economic policy and outcomes relative to other developed countries over these periods. He will draw lessons for post-pandemic policy in a future challenged by climate change, massive public debt, international stagflation and the weakening of democratic institutions.

About our presenter

Professor Ross Garnaut AC

Ross is an Emeritus Professor in Economics at The Australian National University and an Emeritus Professor in Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne. Over the past fifty years, he has had many senior roles in business and as a policy advisor and diplomat. Ross was the senior economic policy official in Papua New Guinea’s Department of Finance in the years straddling Independence in 1975, principal economic adviser to Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke from 1983 to1985, and Australian Ambassador to China from 1985 to 1988. He was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2017 for work on climate change and energy, and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1993 for services to education and international relations.

He is the author of numerous publications in scholarly journals on international economics, public finance and economic development, particularly in relation to East Asia and the Southwest Pacific. His recent books include Superpower: Australia’s low carbon opportunity, Black Inc. (2019) and RESET: Restoring Australia after the Pandemic Recession (2021).

Ross is a Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Economic Society, Distinguished Life Member of the Australian Agricultural and Resources Economics Society, Fellow of the Australia Academy of Social Sciences and Honorary Professor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Important: Do NOT attend this event if you are feeling unwell.

Registration is required to attend this event.

To attend this event, you must register via Eventbrite and be able to present proof of registration when you arrive, either as a printout or by producing a digital confirmation. No unregistered walk-ins will be admitted. Registering via this Eventbrite registration form is the only way to guarantee entry.

Social distancing

Please be mindful of social distancing and avoid over crowding.

Staying COVID safe on campus

An overview of the measures the University has put in place and things you need to do to stay safe on campus can be found here.

Advice and details relevant to this event include:

• staying home if you're sick

• keeping your distance from others where possible

• wearing a mask indoors; masks can be removed temporarily whilst you eat or drink

• using hand sanitiser and washing hands frequently.

Click here for more ANU COVID advice.

Privacy Collection Notice

The information on this form is being collected by The Australian National University (ANU) College of Business and Economics (CBE).

The information is being collected, with your consent, in order to complete your registration for the event.

The information will be used by authorised staff for facilitating your attendance at the event.

Please note: this information will also be used for COVID-19 contact tracing and will be disclosed to ACT Health, if required to do so by public health orders. You can withdraw your registration any time by contacting events.cbe@anu.edu.au.

If you do not provide all the information that is requested on this form, it may not be possible for us to ensure appropriate arrangements for the event.

ANU is committed to protecting personal information provided by you in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the information will be protected against unauthorised access and use.

All information collected by the University is governed by the ANU Privacy Policy.

For further information about how the University deals with personal information, please refer to the ANU Privacy Policy or contact the ANU Privacy Officer at privacy@anu.edu.au.

You may access or request correction of any personal information you have provided to ANU by contacting privacy@anu.edu.au.

This public lecture will be recorded

The recording will be made publicly available on the CBE website after the event.

Event participants will have the opportunity to ask questions or make comments after the public lecture. If you do not wish for your question or comment to be included in the recording, please contact events.cbe@anu.edu.au.