About Us

• Vision
• Mission
• Focus
• History

Vision

The Melbourne Institute increasingly is regarded as Australia’s leading applied economic and social research institute. It is nationally renowned in academia, government, business and community groups.

By being the world’s leading research institute on the Australian economy and society, and contributing its knowledge to Australian public policy debates and development, and providing commentary on the Australian economy and society, it will make a difference to the wellbeing of Australians.

It also aspires to be renowned on the international stage for its expertise and contributions to knowledge in a limited number of key research areas that are of widespread international relevance.

Mission

In pursuing this vision, the Melbourne Institute’s mission is:

• To undertake and publish high quality independent and impartial applied research on major policy relevant economic and social issues in Australia
• To contribute to the international literature in a limited number of key research areas that are of international relevance
• To provide highly valued research services, publications and products for government, business and community groups
• To foster informed discussion and debate about public policy in Australia
• To provide research training for emerging high quality economic and social researchers through an internationally recognised PhD program in the institute’s selected key research areas

Focus

Our current focus is on:

• applied macroeconomic research;
• labour economics and social policy; and
• applied industrial economic research; and
• health economics research.

Possible new research areas are explored from time to time.

While our core discipline is, and will remain, economics, we plan to engage with other disciplines including sociology, statistics, management, accounting, finance, demography and others.

History

The Melbourne Institute was formed in 1962 under the leadership of Professor Ronald Henderson. It was the first Economics 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 macroeconomic forecasting, financial economics and social economics, and is best remembered for its work on poverty and the development of the Henderson Poverty Line.

After the Henderson era, Peter Dixon was appointed Director and after some restructuring, the new Melbourne Institute based its operation around Dixon's ORANI model of the Australian economy. In the early 1990s Peter Dixon and a number of his senior colleagues left the institute to join Monash University. 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 until April 2005. In 1996, 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.

From April 2005 until April 2007 the Director was Professor John Freebairn.

The current Director, Professor Stephen Sedgwick, commenced on 1 August 2007.