Professor of Applied Economics and Social Policy
Contact Information
Phone: +61 2 6201 2764
Fax: +61 2 6201 2751
Email: ann.harding@natsem.canberra.edu.au
Postal Address: NATSEM, University of Canberra, ACT, 2601
Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Economics degree with first class honours from the University of Sydney
- PhD from the London School of Economics
Projects/Models:
Research Interests:
Microsimulation, population, ageing, wealth and income inequality.
Profile:
Ann Harding is the founder and inaugural Director of the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling. Ann founded the Centre in January 1993, she held the position of Director for 16 years before stepping down in mid 2009 to take on a research based role within NATSEM and the University of Canberra. Ann currently holds the title of Professor of Applied Economics and Social Policy. During the past 16 years Ann has led the development of highly sophisticated microsimulation models and databases, so that policy makers can gain much better information about the likely distributional impact of current and proposed policies. More recently Ann has steered microsimulation modelling in Australia beyond its traditional 'tax and social security' focus to such new areas as health, aged care, housing and regional issues, with the goal of extending sophisticated quantitative decision-support tools to policy makers in these areas. This research is largely being financed through ARC and NHMRC grants.
Ann has published widely on income inequality, poverty, and the distributional impact of government programs, and is a prolific contributor to public policy debate in Australia, with her work typically being cited every week in the media. In 1996 she was elected a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and in 2003 was elected President of the International Microsimulation Association. She serves on a range of government and academic boards and advisory committees. In 2008 Ann was one of the 1000 Australians selected to attend the Prime Minister's 2020 Summit. Prior to joining NATSEM Ann worked on policy and research within the Federal departments of Social Security, Treasury and Health, Housing and Community Services.
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