Top honour for University of Sydney economist
Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark (right), Distinguished Fellow Award winner, with Economic Society of Australia National President Dr Matthew Butlin (centre), and Young Economist Award winner Professor Rachel Ong ViforJ (left).
Professor Cobb-Clark from the School of Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences received the Economic Society of Australia (ESA) Distinguished Fellow Award in recognition of her significant academic achievements, as well as her contribution to the Australian economics community.
Professor Cobb-Clark took home the prestigious award at the Australian Conference of Economists 2018 Gala Dinner in Canberra.
Professor Cobb-Clark was recognised for her “substantial contribution to our understanding of how social policy affects labour market outcomes including immigration, sexual and racial harassment, health, old-age support, education and youth transitions”.
The ESA also highlighted her “significant contribution to the Australian economics community” and particularly her efforts championing opportunities for women in the field.
"I am thrilled to be made a Distinguished Fellow of the Economics Society. It is a great honour,” Professor Cobb-Clark said.
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Professor Annamarie Jagose congratulated Professor Cobb-Clark on her award.
“I am delighted to see Professor Cobb-Clark’s accomplishments acknowledged by the Australian economics community. This success reflects her outstanding career achievements and commitment to addressing a range of real-world issues through economics research,” Professor Jagose said.
Professor Garry Barrett, Head of the School of Economics, also congratulated Professor Cobb-Clark, saying: “We are privileged to have Professor Cobb-Clark as a colleague in the School of Economics and are proud of her internationally recognised research, contributions to social policy and leadership in the discipline.”
Professor Cobb-Clark is a world leader in labour market research and has published more than four dozen academic articles in leading international journals. According to the Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) rankings, she is among the top 25 Australian academic economists and the second-highest-ranked female economist working in Australia.
She is Director of the Program in Gender and Families at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, Germany, a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, and an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.
In addition to her academic work, Professor Cobb-Clark has been a mentor at the Women in Economics Retreat and provided substantial support to the Women in Economics Network.
Established in 1925, the Economic Society of Australia is the peak body for Australian economists and seeks to promote discussion and debate of economic issues within Australia.
